ostradamus

And The Final Age

1998-2006 Michael McClellan

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NOTE BENE

In March 1998, without realizing it, I completed the creation of a monster: the precursor to this book. After six long years of research and numerous revisions, I had unwittingly produced a thing that would be impervious to any form of radical revision. The wheel, as it were, could no longer be reinvented. The book you are now reading can be updated, but the format can never be altered without weakening the over-all impact of the message. Because a portion of this book deals with speculation concerning current events, it will always appear "dated." That is because current events are constantly changing in this period of flux. At the time work on this book was first begun, April 1992, and for the next three years, this was not a problem. Current events, the "big picture" such as it was, did not change much. However, between May 1995 and March 1998 a flurry of updates became necessary. This was due, in part, to radical changes in the status quo. Intended to be published and marketed by late 1998 or early 1999, this mammoth work just barely missed achieving that objective. Due largely to its size, the manuscript was turned down by a succession of publishers some of who were seriously considering signing me to a contract but "changed their minds." It has never been the opinion of this author that the world would end in 1999, 2000, or even 2001. Indeed, part of the purpose of writing this book was to assuage the fears of those who believed such a catastrophe would occur by demonstrating how far ahead the future stretches. Still, although not the "the end," other dire events were correctly forecast. Unfortunately, 1999, 2000, and 2001 are now history and 2002 is well on its way.

As a result, nearly all top-selling books concerning the subject of prophecies, including those of Nostradamus, are dated. With few exceptions, nearly all such books had a vested interest in convincing the book-buying public that some sort of Armageddon would arrive at the millennium. Catering to morbid fascinations and the need of the fearful to be further frightened became a big business in the 1980s and 1990s. Now what does the buying public have left to find on their bookshelves but a large compilation of books that have erroneously anticipated Doomsday at the conclusion of the 20th Century? My predictions for the immediate future aside, the major contribution this book has to offer still lies in the discovery I made back in 1992: a long, expansive, and detailed future history of the world as Nostradamus actually foresaw it. A future history that I can assure you has never seen the light of publication. This part of the book will likely never undergo revision: there will be no need. My theories concerning it will either prove to be correct, incorrect, or partly correct and there is a good ten to sixteen years to go before they will even begin to be tested.

What is Nostradamus and the Final Age? As the new millennium begins are you hopeful or fearful? Do images of the Antichrist and worldwide Armageddon fill you with a sense of doom and resignation? or are you waiting in eager anticipation for a glorious new era of peace and harmony? This book may challenge your fears and beliefs. According to the famed French prophet Nostradamus, the true beginning of the next millennium won't arrive for another 240 years! But before breathing easier, one note of caution: a crisis of global proportions is in the making. A third World War, or something like it, is only one of a number of hurdles humanity will have to face in the many years ahead. However, the next few centuries will also bring periods of unprecedented peace, prosperity, spiritual revival, amazing breakthroughs in science and technology, and the solutions to many ancient mysteries. Nostradamus and the Final Age is both an examination of the current issues which will affect us in the years immediately ahead and a detailed exploration into previously unknown chapters of our remote future. It is the first book ever to present Nostradamus' quatrains (four-line prophetic verses) and prose predictions as a comprehensive historical encyclopedia covering a period of 240 years. As an added bonus, an additional chapter is devoted to events which will occur during the two millennia following "the Final Age." This is also the first book to establish a direct link between Nostradamus' Epistle to Henry II and the Old Testament prophet Daniel's chronicle of the "latter days." There are many other supporting predictions included by oracles throughout history such as Jeane Dixon, Edgar Cayce, Paracelsus, Ursula Southiel, the Brahan Seer, Merlin, Johannes Trithemius, the biblical prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and St. John, the unknown author of the Liber Vaticinationem, and many others.

Along with being one of the largest books ever written on the subject of Nostradamus, no other work has ever approached the number of pages devoted to the in-depth, chronological presentation of future history which makes up the second half of this book. It is truly two books in one.

Major Points of Value Books on Nostradamus usually fall into three general categories: conventional interpretation, contemporary interpretation, and chronological interpretation. The vast majority of books about Nostradamus and his prophecies have been interpreted conventionally (the commentator begins with Quatrain 1.1 and finishes with Quatrain 10.100, sometimes including the Preface to Cesar, the Epistle to Henry II, almanac presages, the quatrains, and sometimes sixains that many authorities consider to be spurious). Most conventional commentators are interested in demonstrating Nostradamus' historical accuracy, allowing their imaginations to run free when discussing those predictions yet to be fulfilled. Contemporary interpretation is essentially a platform for Nostradamus experts to discuss recent and current events in the light of prophecy and project warnings for the immediate future. Chronological interpretation is when the writer attempts to assemble Nostradamus' scrambled predictions into a consecutive time sequence. Most "chronologies" concern a pending third World War and the immediate aftermath. What makes Nostradamus and the Final Age unique is that it is both contemporary and chronological, but does not focus exclusively on a possible third World War like most books do. There are also some elements of conventional (historical) interpretation involved. Of the twenty volumes I have read on the subject of Nostradamus and his prophecies, nearly all of which were written in this century, I have found only four which chronicle future events in a detailed, sequential manner: Nostradamus Predicts the End of the World by Rene Noorbergen (1981), Nostradamus: The Voice That Echoes Through Time by Maurice LaCasse (1992), Nostradamus: The Next 50 Years by Peter Lemesurier (1993), and Nostradamus 1999 by Stephan Paulus (1996). There may be several more such books, but if there are I have not read them. Two of the books listed above discuss a central theme in depth before proceeding to the chronology; for the other two the chronology constitutes the entire book. All four books are only between 200 and 300 book pages in length. The principal focus of Noorbergen's chronology is the Third World War, commencing "sometime before 1995, and concluding a short time after 2002. LaCasse discusses a central theme, Saddam Hussein, before proceeding to his chronology: a third World War which ends in the year 2007. Lemesurier's chronicle is mostly concerned with a protracted third World War which begins "by the year 2000," ends around the year
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2048, and is followed by a mere 46 quatrains dealing with the 2050s and the remote future. Paulus's well-developed central theme deals with a daytime comet carrying an asteroid in its tail which would wreak havoc with the earth on September 23, 1999, setting the stage for a third World War beginning sometime in the year 2001 or 2002. The war ends sometime between 2025 and 2038. Each of these books ends pretty much the same way: the world is restored during the reigns of two kings named Henry and his successor Ogmios, then the course of future events trails off into oblivion. The reason the authors give or suggest: Nostradamus had little more to write about after World War III. A preposterous assertion, that! In contrast, my book's chronology, which is over 150,000 words in length, covers a broad range of human events from 2001 to 2243, including five world wars and two major eras of peace. The preceding 100,000 words discuss contemporary issues, Nostradamus' life, methods, and beliefs, and important predictions fulfilled prior to and early in the 20th Century; challenge arguments made by Nostradamus' principal modern skeptic and detractor, James Randi (AKA "the Amazing Randi); present the evidence and method by which I arrive at my chronology; and interpret quatrains I believe have been fulfilled between 1978 and 1999. This most recent revision of my book was completed a few weeks before the IsraeliPalestinian conflict that began on September 28, 2000. Developments which have occurred since that time in no way have changed the relevance of what I am about to relate. Indeed, the horrific terrorist attack on NYC and Washington DC on September 11, 2001, the war on terrorism that has followed, along with last month's "axis of evil" speech by President Bush have, if anything, vindicated my projections that major wars and crises in the Middle East, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, and the Pacific will begin in 2001, 2002, and 2003. This book also alleges that the Nostradamian hero "Chiren" is either French President Jacques Chirac or an as-of-yet unknown future "Henry V." This view will not change irrespective of who wins the French presidential election in May 2002. Chirac still remains my personal choice for future emperor of Europe. Should Lionel Jospin win the election, he will be unseated later by Chirac or "Henry V" (by public acclaim) after France is plunged into the darkness of war. The only significant change that has taken place regarding my views since September 2000 is the role of Russia. I believe Russia will play a much larger role as an aggressor nation during World War III than I have discussed in Chapter One or Chapter Seven. This is because I have been introduced to the prophecies of Alois Irlmaier and certain other central European prophets. In the near future I may update this book to further promote this outlook. A catastrophic, Velikovsky-like encounter with a monstrous comet named Wormwood in 2026 is also discussed in this book, but only recently have I been

informed about a coming "approach" of Planet X, Nibiru. Despite these new theories and projections for a close encounter in May 2003, I remain unconvinced. Still, a book, after all, is not a 24-hour-a-day news service. Also, while current events have an important part to play in this book, the main focus deals with events that will occur years, decades, and centuries from now. But enough. The document, completed on September 12, 2000, and reformatted and compiled for e-book publication early last year, is now at your fingertips. It is time to move on

28 Feb 2002

Nostradamus and the Final Age 1998-2006 Michael McClellan

INTRODUCTION

On September 18, 1918, Lord Edmund Allenby, the British general and commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Forces during World War I, defeated the Turks on the plains of Armageddon during the Battle of Megiddo. He was the first Christian conqueror to win a decisive victory on the ancient battlefield in 800 years. Twentythree years later, Vichy French and Axis bombers swept across Armageddon to raid the British fleet at the then-Palestinian port of Haifa. In the moonlight, townspeople and tourists watched from rows of hotel balconies above the slopes of Mt. Carmel as tracer fire lit up the night sky and Nazi shells pounded the coast below, the thunder of warplanes echoing menacingly from the mountains of Megiddo. Thanks to the rapid momentum of scientific progress since the late nineteenth century, Darwinism, the evolution and exaltation of the media, and an exaggerated, collective social identity shaped over the years by various notions of what it is to be "modern," it is not unusual to find in each succeeding generation many individuals living with a sense that they are the sum total of their forebears, the ultimate product of centuries of refinement. In the West, due to subliminal fears instilled by the Judeo-Christian doctrine of the Apocalypse, this conceit becomes elevated during times of impending crises and wars. It is then that individuals succumb to the notion that they represent not only the most modern incarnation of the human species, but the last. For the cycles of war and peace are such that it is rare indeed for one to live out an entire life span without witnessing at least one major conflict that will be perceived as a universal threat and a personal Armageddon. As we begin a new millennium, fears of global war and Armageddonalong with exploitation of these fearscontinue to increase. Although the legend of "the end" has been with us since the dawn of civilization, evidence of a collective, contemporary Western obsession (or "love affair") with Doomsday can be traced back to an ABC News poll conducted in the early 1980s that revealed a majority of Americans believed that the United States would be involved in a world war by 1985.
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Similar polls conducted in the UK and Western Europe reflected the same shared concern that a third World War might only be a few years away. The trigger for this belief was the release of several major films between 1979 and 1981 concerning biblical prophecies and the predictions of Nostradamus and their pending fulfillment in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, in January 1991 a substantial percentage of Americans and Europeans believed that the coming Persian Gulf War would last considerably longer than a year and some of these feared that it would eventually lead to a global conflict. Following that time, televisions throughout the Western world were inundated with documentaries on the subject of prophecy, several of which were hosted by actor David McCallum, predicting, among other things, a Russian invasion of Israel led by ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and a fiery cataclysmic end of the world by May 5, 2000. Now, in more recent television documentaries, books, and on numerous web sites on the Internet, some of the same people who brought us the notion of a 2000 apocalypse have pushed the envelope ahead to 2007, 2009, 2012, or even the 2020sgiving everyone an additional decade or two to dread or sensationalize. The greatest fraud ever perpetrated by would-be prophets and interpreters of prophecy alike was the idea that either the year 1999 or 2000 would actually mark the cataclysmic finale of human history or else usher in a brief period of tribulation (seven to twelve years) culminating in the ultimate final conflict: Armageddon. Despite reams of contrary prophetic evidence, religious propagandists and sensationalists continue to espouse a deliberately misleading and dangerous agenda for our immediate future. Their efforts, I believe, have contributed to tragedies such as the fiery catastrophe at Waco in April 1993, the release of deadly sarin fumes into a Tokyo subway that killed and injured 5,500 Japanese commuters in March 1995, the Solar Temple Cult suicides in Sweden and Canada in 1996 and 1997, and numerous other deadly events. One of the strangest and most disturbing of these occurred in March 1997. As the brightest comet in nearly two centuries reached its closest position to the earth, the dead bodies of thirty-nine men and women were discovered in an expensive house in southern California, the face and chest of each covered with a triangular purple cloth. They were members of an obscure spiritual cult called Heavens Gate: a group which fused UFOs, science fiction, and gnosticism into a reason to commit mass suicide, to "shed their containers" and link up with a huge UFO they were convinced was traveling inside the tail of Comet Hale-Bopp. The groups leader, Marshall Applewhite, alias "Do," appealed to television viewers in a videotape recorded just prior to his suicide to join the cult members "before it is too late," before a nebulous Apocalypse wracked the planet. At this writing (April 2, 2000), Ugandan authorities are investigating the worst cultrelated mass murder in modern history. Thus far, 940 bodies have been accounted for and many more are believed to exist. On March 17, 2000, several hundred incinerated remains of members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God were discovered in a burned-out church. Subsequent searches of other compounds belonging to the sect unearthed a large number of mass graves. Many of these victims, the majority of who were women and children, had been strangled or stabbed. Because the death toll now exceeds that of the infamous Jonestown mass
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suicide and murders of November 1978, the Uganda Massacre is now the most horrific example of cult mass death of all time. This is the legacy that those who would have us believe that the end of the world is imminent have left us. Their books and sermons have contributed to the influence that creates a David Koresh, a Shoko Asahara, a Marshall Applewhite, a Joseph Kibwetere, or a Credonia Mwerinde. Now, dissatisfied that the hysteria has not been greater or more widespread, they push the envelope ahead another seven-to-twelve years. Few of these religious propagandists and "authorities" on prophecy would concede that writings penned by either the Bible prophets or the famed French psychic Nostradamus depict numerous events, some quite complex and multigenerational in scope, whose chances of being fulfilled in their entirety soon or at any time during the 21st Century -are exactly zero. Indeed, as I have discovered after nearly twenty-seven years of reading books concerning the interpretation of biblical prophecies, the predictions of Nostradamus, and the forecasts of astrologers and modern psychics, is that with a selective knowledge of history and a lot of imagination anyone with a knack for writing persuasively can squeeze centuries of unfulfilled future events into any time-frame they choose. The choice for most of these expert "scholars" had always been between the scheduled release of their books and the year 2000, with a few opting to take the reader a bit beyond the turn of the millennium. Some, like Hal Lindsey, author of the first sensational interpretation of biblical prophecy, The Late Great Planet Earth, jumped the gun, preparing us for Armageddon sometime between 1973 and 1980. In 1979, after reading John Gribbins and Stephen Plagemanns controversial book, The Jupiter Effect, Lindsey made a movie based on his 1971 best seller, and postponed the time of the beginning of "tribulation" until 1982. Three years later he was still wrong. In 1993 it gradually began to dawn on a small number of interpreters that 2000 might end up being just another year. Yet even for them it was difficult, or simply not sensational enough, to conceive of the course of history running too far beyond the turn of the millennium. All concur that there will be a third World War and, almost without exception, that it will be the last-whether it runs until the year 2007, 2012, 2025, 2036, or even, in one instance, 2050. To me such people are still die-hard millennialists riding the doom train to oblivion, hoping to convince their readers that they have only been slightly off in their "calculations." The Bible scholars continue to hold the line as close to the year 2000 as possible, seldom straying farther ahead than 2010 or 2020. Most, but not all, Nostradamians are lop-sided in their assertions, cramming any and every prediction concerning war into one great future war and every conceivable description of natural catastrophe into one monstrous global earthquake or asteroid slam. Then through an act of omission these millennialists gloss over all predictions that threaten to contradict their "findings."

Other modern interpretations of the prophecies of one Michel de Notredame, famed 16th-century physician, astrologer, and prophet of Provence, run a wide and intriguing range. Nevertheless, whether commentators subscribe to the idea of a cataclysmic finale to human history or some form of universal spiritual awakening resulting in unending peace, their clocks generally are stuck sometime in the first half of the 21st Century, many of them not long after the year 2000. None investigate a proposition that should become apparent to anyone who reads Les Propheties long enough and deeply enough: that the years ahead also yawn deeply and long. This book diligently endeavors to demonstrate this proposal in great detail. It has been said that a key to the original arrangement of Nostradamus nearly one thousand prophetic quatrains (four-line verses) awaits to be discovered. While a few commentators have claimed to have found this elusive key, time has demonstrated that they have been unable to find the keyhole let alone the device to unlock it. It is highly doubtful that Nostradamus received his visions in any sort of chronological sequence and then "scrambled" them laterat least not initially. However, I do believe that by 1558, after he had versified the nearly one thousand of them, he attempted to put a large number of the quatrains together into a reasonably cohesive and consecutive progression to satisfy his own curiosity. This book contends that the result of this experiment is the nearest we will ever get to a "key" by which we can assemble a chronicle of future history as the French prophet believed it to be. The clue has always been accessible; unfortunately it has been largely misunderstood by generations of serious scholars. To more than a few commentators it has been a source of embarrassment, while to others it has been a wellspring of information that they have been able to contort to perpetuate and reinforce their more popular, albeit erroneous, interpretations. This key, the "Epistle to Henry II," a letter of dedication composed as a preface for Centuries 8 through 10 (a "Century" being a presentation of one hundred quatrains) in Nostradamus 1558 publication of The Centuries, also known as Les Propheties de M. Michel de Nostradamus, is largely composed of a truly revelatory wonder: a chronological prose outline of events destined to occur in our future and far beyond. Commentators throughout the many years have presumed that the Epistle began with the prophets death in 1566, thus arriving at the spurious conclusion that the beginning of this prophetic abstract concerned the careers of four of the seven House of Valois children and their impact on European history thereafter. Reading the missive in this light, they inevitably concluded that Nostradamus had blundered rather badly or had foreseen an alternative future. Yet, it has never occurred to any that he might have envisioned the prose prophecy originating at some other point in future time. If these interpreters had ever taken it upon themselves to compare the Epistle to Henry II with biblical prophecies they might have uncovered yet another key that not only promises to make Nostradamus predictions concerning our future clearer but also goes a long way to clarifying our understanding of biblical prophecy as well. Instead, wishing to present their oracle as an inspired astrologer, an enigmatic physicianturned-sorcerer, or a forerunner of New Age mysticism, they have overlooked one of the paramount critical chronological narratives of future events by one who is considered by many Bible historians to be the most important of the Old Testament
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prophets: Daniel of Chaldea. By comparing the Epistle and certain key quatrains from The Centuries with Chapters 8 and 11 from the Book of Daniel, the elusive point of commencement for the Epistle becomes quite obvious: Nostradamus long, winding road of prophetic narrative begins early in the 21st Century, a decade or more following the end of what may become known as the Third World War (or, if contained quickly enough, merely "the World Crisis"). Long ago, after seeing the Nostradamus documentary The Man Who Saw Tomorrow narrated by the late Orson Wells on cable television in March 1983, I had my misgivings about the popular interpretations of his prophecies. Shortly after I would be reading the works of Erika Cheetham and John Hogues first book. I questioned what made these authors, as well as the producers of the 1981 film, so certain that all the quatrains concerning comets were inexorably linked to Comet Halleys 1985-1986 visit? Why only one comet? My initial impression was that a number of different comets were being described and that all of them awaited us well ahead in the future. The recent appearances of Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp have proven my original contention out. Thus far only one of the quatrains with events linked to the passing of a comet has been fulfilled, tragically so I might add; by Comet Hale-Bopp. From the chaos in Albania and the resulting exodus of refugees to Italy to the historic U.S.-Russian summit in Helsinki, Finland; its saddest and most shocking legacy was finally realized at the end of August 1997 (this quatrain will be discussed fully later in the book). Another thing that became apparent to me early on in my new-found hobby was that although there are many themes concerning war and disaster to be found in The Centuries, they do not necessarily complement one another in the fashion many commentators would like to have us believe. Two contrary themes I sorted out almost immediately when I first began reading Nostradamus in August 1985 was one which had France, along with other major Western powers, pitted against Libya and other Arab countries; and another which had France and Britain in league with Libya and the rest of North Africa in a war against Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. How could both scenarios be part of the same conflict? They cannot of course without a considerable amount of wrenching and contorting. The logical conclusion anyone should be able to arrive at is that, since neither theme has occurred since the death of Nostradamus in 1566, both must describe events to be played out in two entirely different future wars. Still other themes in Nostradamus work presented themselves, taking the story of humankind far beyond the pale of any of our contemporary concerns, let alone the turning of the millennium. Although the biblical "end times" may have begun, they should not be confused with the final seven-year period identified by most Christian fundamentalists as "the Tribulation." The "latter days," as they have come to be called, constitute, I believe, a final era of human history that will cover, by our mortal reckoning, an expansive period of time. In this book I propose to demonstrate that there are at least as many years ahead of us before the second coming of Christ as those which have passed since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. This, based on his Epistle to Henry II, is what I have become convinced Nostradamus believed. Reading Chapter 8 and then Chapter 11 from the Book of Daniel from beginning to end, even without the Epistle for comparison, I derive a sense that there is no less, and likely much more than a century of future prophecy outlined in those passages.
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The greater part of this book shall present the many, as-of-yet unfulfilled quatrains of Nostradamus in a comprehensive chronological sequence, covering a "latter days" age of roughly 250 years. Commencing from the early 21st Century, this chronicle analyzes, quatrain by quatrain, the events of five future global wars, the careers of twelve European emperors to come, the protracted evolution of power centers toward the North, an era of peace to rival the Pax Romana, the ultimate destinies of Russia and the United States, and the horrifying realization of John of Patmos vision of the beast and false prophet. A smaller section of post-Armageddon predictions, including the millennial reign of Christ and far beyond, is also detailed. While the idea of chronologizing future history based on Nostradamus predictions is nothing new, the handful of authors who have attempted anything of this sort have focused their attention on the immediate future and "World War III." No one, to the best of my knowledge, has ever attempted anything of quite this magnitude. Succeeding chapters will seek to explore this, hitherto, uncharted domain of final history. The French prophets prose chronology of future events, his Epistle to Henry II, does not appear to commence until sometime between 2009 and 2016. This window, in my view, approximates the beginning of a very long future age of war and peace. For the time between now and then we have a small number of quatrains which correspond to the opening portions of Daniel 8 and 11; more quatrains which seem to relate to the writings of the prophet Jeremiah; the revelations of a few modern psychics; and some degree of speculation to help us determine the course of the next nine to sixteen years. Following a comparison and analysis of the Old Testament prophet Daniels eighth chapter and relevant Nostradamus quatrains, the entire text of the Epistle to Henry II and Daniels eleventh chapter will be presented and analyzed. Nostradamus himself will also be spotlightedhis life, his beliefs, and his practices will be probed. With that groundwork laid, I will then explain the methodology by which I was able to date and categorize the various major eras of human history beyond the 2009 - 2016 period. Then we shall examine a generous helping of quatrains that have been fulfilled from 1979 through the year 1997 (1998 and 1999 will have been discussed in the chapter previous). After the chapter on fulfilled predictions follows The Chronology, which makes up the greater part of the book. Every unfulfilled prediction made by Nostradamus that can possibly be interpreted is presented in the most probable sequence the French prophet assembled for use in composing his missive to Henry IIand for the benefit of the coming "King of France the Second." Supporting presentiments by both past and recent seers and scryers alike will appear along with relevant quatrains and passages, accompanied by an interpretation, an analysis, available astrological datings, and other dating methods when applicable. The predictions of these additional prophetsbiblical, classical, medieval, early modern, and contemporary will serve to function as a body of prophetic corroboration. Before proceeding, I must warn the reader that, although Armageddon is not knocking at the door, it is possible that another global war is. The pundits of doom will of
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course do their utmost best to convince everyone that they had it right to begin with and that "the end is at hand" (the end is always "at hand" for someone, no matter what the circumstances may be). Do not listen. Both Daniel and Nostradamus indicate that we have it in our power to determine the outcome and lessen the severity of the coming conflict when it arrives. It is equally possible that, in place of a global conflagration, the world will be confronted with a scattering of brush fires that will require our collective courage for their extinguishing (thus far this appears to have been the case). However, on the dark side of the coin, we also have the power to give way to our own worst fears, based on all the "millennium madness" surrounding us, and hastily create a nightmare that need not be. Nevertheless, we can take heart in the knowledge that Satans man does not yet walk among us nor will he until long after we have gone to dust. If a dedicated interpreter of prophecy is successful, he will make the future seem a familiar place. Here then is the long-awaited map to a most strange country. Let us journey there with open eyes and minds, guided by the oracle of Salon. 12 September 2000

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The First Key Now Online!

- Daniels Prophecy is the First Key to Understanding Nostradamus - World War III as Envisioned by Nostradamus and the Prophet Daniel - The Iraqi Connection - The Persian-Median Alliance Invades the Balkans - What about Russia, China, North Korea, and the rest? - An He-Goat Comes Out of the West and Destroys the Ram - And When He Was Strong the Great Horn Was Broken

The Second Key Now Online!

- The Four Notable Ones - The Kings of the North and South, The Ignoble King, and the Great Destroyer - An Analysis of the Epistle to Henry II

The Antichrists of Nostradamus Now Online!

NOTE: I may soon restore some material that was deleted from this chapter. Check back periodically. - The Third Antichrist: Raypoz, Lord of Asia - The Turko-Russian War - World War IV - The Great Dog and Dohan: LOriental - The Lords of Aquilon - Mendosus: The King of the South - The Third King of the North: A Tragic Renovator - The False Prophet - The Antichrist - Hercules Cinq

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- A Political Overview of Annemarc - Iron and Clay

The Third Key

Strategem For The Dating And Ordering Of The Prophecies Now Online!
- A Background of Nostradamus' Beliefs and Practices - On the Reliability of Planetary Alignments - Celestial Signposts - Literal Dates - 1792: A Climactic Year - Conquest of Europe in the 40s - Other Literal Evidence in Brief - 666: The Great Fire of London? - 1609: The Election that Wasnt - The Council Datings - 1995 - 2007: Islamic Extremism Spreads from Algeria, Leading to the Overthrow of the King of Morocco - Two Quatrains: 2025 and 2028 - Russia Conquered by the Turko-Tartar Nations - All Roads Lead to 2242 - 2243 - Confirming the Evidence

Remaining chapters:
Recent Historical Evidence World War III and Other Events The Nightmare Scenario The First Peace: Armistice

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World War IV The Pax Europa and the Aquarian Revolution The Twilight of History The Infernal Years The Great Millennium and Beyond Resources/Bibliography

Nostradamus and the Final Age 1998-2006 Michael McClellan

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THE FIRST KEY

Both The Centuries and the Epistle to Henry II contain numerous references to future eras when Christendom will be fiercely persecuted. In addition, the word "antichrist" appears exactly five times: as "Antichrist three" and "false antichrist" (The Centuries), "second antichrist," "great Empire of Antichrist," and "Antichrist, the infernal prince" (Epistle to Henry II). A number of unsavory characters are also mentioned throughout whom most commentators also label as "antichrists," whether or not their involvement in persecutions of Christians or clergy is expressly stated by the prophet. Some of these are simply cruel tyrants or atheistic warlords. Others are inimical to the Cross by virtue of a militant doctrine within their own faith. However, one manthe final enemy of Christwill actually create his own religion and be regarded as a living god. Despite a popular conviction shared by virtually all interpreters that Nostradamus foresaw the coming of only three antichrists, I have discovered a total of seven manifestations of irrefutable evil in Les Propheties. Nostradamus stated in his Epistle to Henry II that the first notable persecution of Christianity after his death would begin in 1792, the year the French monarchy was abolished and the Reign of Terror was ushered in. Authorities are divided about who best embodied this first antichrist: its architect, Robespierre, or its beneficiary, Napoleon. A few paragraphs later, he actually applied the title "second antichrist" to an Italian-German axis in the years 37, 41, 42, and 45. From the evidence provided, the three men he linked with this second antichrist appear to have been Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Nazi collaborator Pierre Laval. Who thenor whatwill the third of this sequence of seven antichrists be? The French oracle calls this next manifestation of evil the "great Empire of Antichrist": an alliance of nations that will be located in the "Attila" (the Mongol regions of eastern Russia and Central Asia) and "Xerxes" (Iran). To be more specific, a map displaying the route of conquest taken by the Huns under Attila locate the point of origination as
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being somewhere in the neighborhood of Kazakhstan. Thus we have two allied centers of power about which adjacent nations will one day revolve: Astana and Teheran. In the near term it seems most unlikely that Central Asia will become a powerful empire. It is a poor and desolate region of the former Soviet Union that is placing all of its hopes on oil from the Caspian Sea region to bolster its crippled economy. However, by the mid-2020s, Central Asia may become a major player in world events. Like Iran to the south, most of its inhabitants are Moslems. Also, like Iran, some of the former Soviet Asian states are Persian-speaking (such as Uzbekistan). Since Nostradamus foresees numerous future holy wars between Islam and Christendom, it is most likely that the galvanizing force behind this "great Empire of Antichrist" will be the religion of Islam. Iran, on the other hand, is already becoming a major Middle Eastern power to be reckoned with. It has become a beacon toward which many Moslem countries are drawn. It is widely believed that Teheran is only a few years away from testing its first nuclear bomb. Indeed, by the time this book is released, the first nuclear test by Iran may already be history. Although the current leadership under President Mohammad Khatami is pro-Western, it continues to be snubbed by the United States. Eventually, events now developing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, and the Caucasus could transform the role of the Iranian president from that of a peacemaker to one who will, perhaps reluctantly, wage war. Meanwhile, waiting in the shadows, are an elite of fundamentalist mullahs hoping to one day replace the moderate Khatami with one of their own. Should the hand of Khatami be forced or should he instead be overthrown or succeeded in presidential elections, that shall be the day that Iran will become the most dangerous and aggressive force in the Middle East. According to both Nostradamus and the Old Testament prophet Daniel, after Iran has asserted its position as the leading power in the Moslem world, the nations of Transcaucasia and the Caucasus will ally with Teheran. Then, for reasons that as of yet are unclear, this federation will go to war against the Western-aligned nations of the Middle East and the Balkans.

Daniels Prophecy is the First Key to Understanding Nostradamus Note I say only part. Anyone who believes they can determine the rest of future history on the basis of this revelation alone will soon find themselves in a world of confusion and wild speculation. There is much more to the key. But we must begin here. The Old Testament prophet Daniel foresaw a day when Iran would become the paramount power in the Middle East and surrounding regions of Asia:

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Daniel 8:19, 11:2 Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia : and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
A kingdom that was once what is now modern-day Iran. A future European empire which Daniel compares to the Greek empire (an empire that will precede the neo-Roman empire of the beast of Revelation).

If the prophet Daniel can be believed, then the "fourth" leader of modern Iran will "stir up" many nations against "the realm of Grecia" which, as we shall later see, will be under the leadership of a king who will "come out of the west" (Western Europe). Modern Iran is post-Shah Iran: the Islamic regime born on February 11, 1979. Therefore, it is critical that we "count" the number of "kings" Iran has had thus far. However, that will not prove to be an easy task. At the onset of Iran's fundamentalist government there was only one leader: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of the Islamic revolution which toppled the Shah. In 1981 presidential elections were held and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became the Moslem theocracy's first president. From that point on, Iran has always had two supreme leaders: one spiritual and the other secular. However, during the reign of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the offices of president and prime minister were weak positions not invested with the full authoritative, juridical, and legislative powers later possessed by the presidency. The legacy of the Khomeini-Khamenei regime was a 444-day ordeal during which Americans were held hostage in the U.S. embassy in Tehran and an eight-year war with Iraq resulting in over a million dead Iranians, some of whom were children as young as eight years of age, adolescents, and old men impressed into service. In February 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini's last official act was to proclaim a death sentence on author Salmon Rushdie for offending Islamic spiritual figures in his book The Satanic Verses. After Khomeini's death in July 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei succeeded Khomeini as faqih, the supreme spiritual leader. The faqih, who is elected for life, is considered the representative of the Twelfth Imamempowered with the final authority over executive, legislative, and judicial decisions made by the president. However, Khamenei, in contrast to his predecessor, for a time came to be regarded as a weak, ineffective leader by both the mullahs and the populace, and more of a figurehead and a mouthpiece for militant hard-line clerics. This is definitely no longer the case. When the office of president was left vacant with Khameneis promotion to supreme imam, the reins of government passed into the hands of Hashemi Rafsanjani, a Shiite
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cleric who had headed Iran's Revolutionary Council since 1979. Presenting himself as a "moderate" during the onset of his first term, the West welcomed the change in government in Tehran, believing the pre-revolution ties enjoyed under the Shah would eventually be restored. Such fantasies would not be entertained for long. Between 1993 and 1997, the legacy of Hashemi Rafsanjani became that of a leader of a nation opposed to peace in the Middle East, intent on expanding its own peculiar hegemony from Transcaucasia to the Balkans, and annually condemned by the U.S. and its closest Western allies as being the leading sponsor of international terrorism. Rafsanjani was accused of masterminding or conspiring in attacks against U.S. servicemen in Saudi Arabia, UN and NATO peacekeepers in Bosnia, and arming and training the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah which incited two minor wars between Israel and Lebanon in 1993 and 1996 following Katushya rocket attacks against northern Israel. On May 26, 1997, former culture minister Mohammad Khatami was elected as Iran's third president, defeating his conservative challenger Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri. He succeeded the "lame duck" president Hashemi Rafsanjani in August. Khatami has thus far proven to be a true moderate because he has provided greater liberties for Iranians and has at least partially succeeded in forging closer ties with the West. Again, the question one must ask when considering the prophet Daniel's vision is how exactly one should go about determining who the "fourth" king of "Persia" is or whether or not he has yet arrived on the scene. If by "king" we are referring to the spiritual leadership in Iran, then Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remains only the second in succession. Like the pope, the faqih remains in power for life. Given the longevity of the late Ruhollah Khomeini, it is conceivable that decades may pass before Iran sees its third supreme spiritual leader, let alone its fourth. On the other hand, the powers of the presidency were greatly enhanced under the government of Hashemi Rafsanjani. Despite Ali Khamaneis current command of the nation's military, it is more than likely that it is the secular leadership upon which we should be focusing. Mohammad Khatami, the elect of 1997, would therefore be the third president of Iran. That implies that Khatamis successor will be the prophesied "fourth king." If Khatami should be a two-term president, he will remain in office until the spring of 2005. The next election will take place in 2001. Those are the two key years for the arrival of an elected "fourth" king of "Persia." However, unless Khatami compromises with the hard-liners and becomes another Rafsanjani, I would not be surprised to see him overthrown in a coup led by an ambitious Iranian mullah or assassinated by outside forces from Iraq or Afghanistan, an event which could occur at any time. There, of course, remains one other possible view. The late Ayatollah Khomeini ruled Iran as both spiritual and secular leader from 1979 to 1981. If we include him as the first political leader of the Islamic state, then Mohammad Khatami is the prophet Daniel's "fourth" king of "Persia."

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By the time this book is published this issue will likely be resolved. Like Daniel, Nostradamus foresees the Persian king as being a great negotiator and orator, one who will have the whole of the Islamic world under his influence:

10.75 Long awaited, he will not return again Into Europe, in Asia will appear One of the league issued from great Hermes, And above all other kings in the orient will surpass.
Hermes, the Greek version of Mercury, the Roman god of communica tion and negotiation. Depending on the context, Nostradamus uses the Orient when referring to the Middle East, East Asia, or the whole of Asia. He also uses it simply to represent "the East." In this quatrain he is most likely referring to the Middle East along with southern and central Asia.

Having established an essential link between Daniel 11:2 and Quatrain 10.75, we will now investigate their mutual visions of World War III.

World War III as Envisioned by Nostradamus and the Prophet Daniel The prophet Daniel provides us with two chronological narratives both commencing with a future war waged between an Asian federation led by Persia (Iran) and a powerful Western European alliance. There are many significant parallels between his account and predictions found in a number of Nostradamus quatrains. In this chapter we will largely be concerned with Chapter 8 of Daniel. Later, however, a closer inspection of Chapter 11 will reveal an even more integral link between Daniels vision and Nostradamus master outline of future history.

Daniel 8:1-8, 8:15-21 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw it, that I was at Shushan [W. Iran, above Persian Gulf] in the palace, which is in the province of Elam [W. Iran]; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram, which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came last.
Crown prince and ruler of Babylon in the 500s BC. A reference to an earlier prophecy by Daniel in which he interpreted mysterious h andwriting on the

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palace wall heralding the death of Belshazzar during Babylons capture by Cyrus the Persian. Probably the Karun River near Irans western border with Iraq which flows into the Shatt al Arab. The two horns, as shall later be revealed by the prophesying angel Gabriel, are the ancient kingdoms of Persia [Iran] and Media. Media today is comprised of the following countries and territories: northwestern Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, eastern Turkey, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. One day, all of these regions will be united. It is important to note that Media, the "higher horn" [another way of saying "northern"] is lesser in power and influence than the lower horn, Persia. Iran, therefore, will be the leading nation of this future federation.

I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground [air and sea power]: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
Metaphorically-speaking, the "beasts" are nations, since Daniel uses a beast [ram] to represent PersiaMedia. Iran and its allies will establish a mighty empire. The implications o f their northward, southward, and westward drives are that this axis will conquer the Middle East, non-allied states in Transcaucasia and the Caucasus such as Armenia and Georgia, and most or all of the Balkans. Another powerful nation or alliance of nations, this time from Western Europe. Probably the European Union. The horn represents the Western alliances most powerful and notable leader.

And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong the great horn was broken; and for it came four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
The West European alliance becomes mighty and attains to empire. The notable and powerful Western king dies. These are four new leaders who will succeed the conquering one. They will be discussed later. North, south, east, and west.

Chapter 8:9-14 will be discussed in the third chapter. Its inclusion here would deviate too much from the subject being discussed since it involves events to occur some years after the war. We will continue with 8:15:

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And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a mans voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, 0 son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
The archangel Gabriel appears before Daniel in the form of a man. The latter days the final age of human history. The war of the ram will mark the beginning of this age. The latter days again. There are many interpretations as to the meaning of the "indignation." However, it is sufficient to say that the times will be displeasing to God. A reference to the ultimate finish of the final age Armageddon. Gabriel is impressing upon Daniel that this will occur at a time known only to, and appointed by, God.

I must interject here to draw attention to an important observation. Verses 17 and 19 positively refute the popularly-held thesis that these predictions concern Alexander the Great and his battles with the Persians. The prophesying angel Gabriel would not have intended the period of Alexander's empire to be understood by Daniel and his readers as occurring during "the time of the end" or "the last end of the indignation."

The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, Armenia, Azerb aijan, Georgia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and northwestern Iran. Now modern day Iran. Dubious. Grecia has never existed and is not simply another name for Greece although it is obviously derived from the name. The feminine ending either makes it the Greek empire or something suggestive of the Greek empire. Since it is tied in with the Western alliance it may be the prophetic name for the European Union or a future European empire. It may also be a dependency of the European empire, i.e., the Balkans. The notable leader who comes out of Western Europe will be the "first king" to rule over the Western empire. He will be a king, president, or prime minister who will become an emperor.

There are compelling analogies in the writings of Nostradamus all of them in the quatrains that concur that he foresaw the same events as the prophet Daniel. There are three verses that establish an alliance between Persia and Media and that place the Persian conqueror in the Caucasus region.

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In the following verse excerpt, he not only appears to link the two "horns" of Daniel, but gives us an idea how far west the battering biblical ram will conquer. He also includes the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan as part of the axis:

3.64 The chief of Persia will fill up great Spain, A fleet of Warships against the people of Mohammed: Parthia and Media pillage the Cyclades, Then a long wait in the great Ionian port.
Another ancient Roman colony that is now comprised of eastern Iraq, Iran, and the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan. Southern Greek islands. The Ionian Sea is located between Greece, southern Italy, and eastern Sicily.

Line three is most consistent with Daniels vision of an Iranian-Median alliance. However, line one raises the eyebrow somewhat. Will Iran be capable not only of reaching as far west as Spain, but also accomplishing its conquest? As I have mentioned, there will be two showdowns between east and west during this century according to Nostradamus. Perhaps, this quatrain then applies to events that will occur during the second conflict between an Iranian-Central Asian axis and the West and not to the first. This might explain the use of "Parthia" which necessitates the inclusion of the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan. Nevertheless, Daniel says that many "beasts" (nations) will fall, and Spain may be one of them. The following quatrain places the Iranian conqueror in northeastern Turkey:

5.27 With fire and armaments, not far from the Black Sea, He will come from Persia to occupy Trabzon: Pharos and Mytilene tremble, the Sun is happy, Arab blood covers the Adriatic Sea.
A Black Sea port city in northeastern Turkey. The island of Pharos a synecdoche for Egypt An ancient region of what is now Greece. The Sun is a metaphor for Christendom, thus, the West.

It appears that events in the Balkans (Adriatic Sea) a battle between Western NATO forces and an Arab coalition that has been sent there to aid whatever side the West is pitted against will compel the leader of Iran to go to war with Turkey (also a NATO member). Note that his primary focus of attack is the port city of Trabzon in the extreme northeast. He can only do this effectively if he is moving southwest
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from the nation of Georgia or the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan ("not far from the Black Sea"). Ergo, Iran will either have established a center of operations in Georgia or southern Russia, be in the process of forcibly annexing Georgia, or else aiding its Moslem brethren against the Russians in Georgian Abkhazia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Nostradamus foresees a great war between Iran and Turkey that will be necessary to enable the "chief of Persia" to establish a land corridor to the Balkans:

5.86 By the two leaders and three arms* separated, The great city (Istanbul?) by water will be vexed: The great ones among those wandering through exile, By the Persian head is Byzantium** strongly pressed. 3.31 On the fields of Media, Arabia, and Armenia, Two great armies three times will assemble: Near the river Araxes the establishment Of great Suleyman will fall to the ground.
* Arms: The rivers Euphrates, Tigris, and Aras. Or armies: Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. ** Nostradamus often uses his historical knowledge of Byzantium and the Byzantine empire to represent Turkey. Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf Emirates, and possibly central and southern Iraq. Now eastern Turkey, the republic of Armenia, and the northeast corner of Syria. Ancient name for the Aras River. The Turkish or Arab Nation.

Quatrain 3.31 reiterates what is mentioned in Daniel: that Iran will press north, south, and west. There will be war waged not only in Turkey, Transcaucasia, and the Caucasus, but in Arabia as well. This indicates Iranian expansion southwards to claim the Saudi oil fields and the small emirates like Bahrain and Kuwait that lie along the coast of the Persian Gulf. What is striking here is the name of a Turkish leader and the Turkish nation: Suleyman. From 1994 to 2000 the president of Turkey was Suleyman Demirel. If true, this war cannot be very far off.

The Iraqi Connection Before continuing with Daniels and Nostradamus mutual vision of the coming war, regarding those points where they concur, the issue of Iraq should not be ignored. Although there is little doubt about the significance of the above quatrains and their relationship to Daniels prophetic narrative, one enters the realm of speculation
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concerning the role of Iraq. Daniel does not mention the country directly; however, the northern portion, Iraqi Kurdistan, was once a part of Media. The question then must be asked whether Daniel considered only the northern Kurds as Medes or did he also leave open the possibility that all of Iraq would be an extension of Media? What role Iraq will play, therefore, is uncertain. There are indications in the quatrains that it will be an ally of Iran. Yet, there is also the suggestion that a second Iran-Iraq War will break out and that Iraq will be overrun. One of these two outcomes must occur since central and southern Iraq is also a part of the "Arabia" that Nostradamus knew. Neutrality is certainly not a likely option. One quatrain that favors the idea of an Iraqi-Iranian alliance is the first one we discussed: Quatrain 3.64. It is there that the French prophet tells us Media will be allied with "Parthia." This ancient Roman colony was comprised of what is now almost entirely modern Iran, but two other territories included southern Turkmenistan and eastern Iraq. Either Iran will spread outwards to annex one central Asian state while conquering and absorbing neighboring Iraq, or both governments will be willingly allied to Teheran. The following quatrain offers a bit more information:

5.25 The Arab prince, Mars, Sun, Venus, Leo, The reign of the Church by sea will succumb: Towards the Persian very nearly of a million, Turkey, Egypt, the true serpent invades.
This has been debated for some time. The consensus is that "the Church" is often used to represent the nations of Christendom: Western Europe and America. If "the Church" is Christendom, then the reference to "the sea" indicates a major Western naval power. "Towards the Persian" can mean either "moving in a direction against Persia" or "i n support of Persia." Dubious. "The Arab prince" or "the Persian."

Thus far, the only Arab to take on "Persia" with a million-man army was Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. Commentator Lee McCann (1941) even dates the height of this eight-year conflict, using the astrological clues in line one, as August 21, 1987. One could also interpret "the reign of the Church by sea will succumb" as the involvement of the US navy following May 17, 1987, when the USS Stark was "accidentally" hit by an Iraqi Exocet missile in the Persian Gulf. Saddam apologized and President Ronald Reagan felt compelled to protect flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers traveling in the Gulf while covertly siding with Iraq against Iran. However, Saddam was not a "prince" in any technical sense of the word; although, poetically, Nostradamus could have meant he was a "prince of the Arabs." Even this seems unlikely: Since the Gulf War he has come to be considered "the pariah of the
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Arabs" by most in the Middle East. Also, neither Iraq nor Iran invaded Turkey or Egypt during either the Iran-Iraq War or the Persian Gulf War that followed in 1991. Indeed, at the time of this writing, neither country has been invaded by Iran nor Iraq. By referring to the Arab leader as a "prince," the prophet could be suggesting that he will be the son and successor of another prominent Arab. If read in this light, Saddam's son, Uday, may help mop up the Middle East after his father's death, aiding Irans invasion of Turkey and conquering Egypt. Or, if the poetic meaning of "prince" holds true, then the Arab prince could still be Saddam himself. Of course, line two may be indicating that Iraq will be conquered by Iran during a second Iran-Iraq War when an Iranian blitzkrieg of Saudi Arabia is in progress and that "the Persian" will invade Turkey and Egypt afterward. This suggests that McCanns dating was in error and Quatrain 5.25 awaits fulfillment. Another read on this quatrain is that the first three lines were fulfilled and a very long wait exists before the accomplishment of the fourth. The prophet Daniel, as I have mentioned, does not make any direct reference to Iraq. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, however, describes what can only be a horrendous war involving Iraq, Syria, Israel, Jordan, and northwestern Saudi Arabia. However, neither Iran nor Turkey are mentioned. Even so, it is possible that this conflict is connected to the Iranian exertions against "Arabia." Perhaps Iran will invade Saudi Arabia and the coastal emirates while Iraq, as an ally, cleans up the western half of the Middle East. Then again, it may be a completely unrelated war: a precursor to the "war of the ram and goat":

Jeremiah 49:22-28 Behold, he shall come up and fly as an eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. Concerning Damascus, Hamath [N. Syria] is confounded, and Arpad [N. Syria]: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted ... Damascus is waxed feeble, and turns herself to flee, and fear has seized on her...her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, says the Lord of hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad. Concerning Kedar [Jordan] and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor [N. Israel], which the king of Babylon shall smite...go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
Busra, in southwestern Syria. Southern Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia. The God of Israel. Central Iraq or synecdoche for all of Iraq. A possible reference to Iran.

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The Iraqi leader will "smite" Jordan and northern Israel after what sounds like a major Middle East war begun by Israel and Syria that will eventually involve Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. No mention is made, however, of either Turkey or Egypt. Therefore, one might conclude that these events must precede an Iranian-Iraqi conquest of the two most powerful pro-Western Moslem nations of the Middle East. Later, Jeremiah describes the total destruction of central Iraq, by what sounds like nuclear weapons, at the hands of a great assembly of unidentified nations. However, it is unclear how far ahead into the future Jeremiahs vision of "the destruction of Babylon" will occur. Then again, if Iraq partly constitutes the Median horn of Daniels "ram" which shall be smitten and broken by the Western "he-goat," this could happen at the conclusion of the coming conflict.

Jeremiah 50:39-40; 51:28-43 It shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, says the LORD: so shall no man abide there Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captain thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant ... I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry, and Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant ... Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness; a land wherein no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby.

The destruction of central Iraq, Babylon, will be utter and final. It will be a land rendered uninhabitable. No human life will be found in this region of the Middle East again, ostensibly, forever. It is even possible that all of Iraq will be turned into a hellon-earth since the Medes (northern Kurds) are also mentioned.

The Persian-Median Alliance Invades the Balkans Returning to Daniels vision, we are told that the axis, which may also include Iraq, will push "westward, and northward, and southward." We have seen the initial extent of the southern and northern expansion: the Middle East, from the Persian Gulf all the way to the Mediterranean, and Turkey, Transcaucasia, and the Caucasus. And what of Russia? Evidence in the quatrains suggest an alliance between Moscow and the rogue Moslem states will eventually sour and Russia will be forced to battle its former Middle Eastern allies. By the time the "fourth king of Persia" launches his offensive, Moscow and Teheran will be enemies.

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The Persian-Median alliance will press "westward," striking out against Western forces in the Balkans, the West itself, pro-Western Arab and Moslem countries, and the land of Israel. This will mark the origin of Nostradamus "great Empire of Antichrist" and the first major showdown between the worlds of Islam and Christianity. Nostradamus calls this conflict "the First Holocaust" in his Epistle to Henry II. However, as we have seen from Daniels prophetic narrative, the West will prevail over its enemies. According to Nostradamus, following the downfall of Turkey, Iran will cross over the Anatolian bridge and Bulgaria and commence the invasion of Macedonia:

2.96 A burning torch in the sky will be seen, Near the end and source of the Rhone: Famine, weapon: too late the assistance is provided, The Persian turns and invades Macedonia.

The "burning torch" is either a French long-range nuclear missile being launched at night or a spectacular comet, now reaching perihelion. Incidentally, Nostradamus mentions many comets in his prophecies and it would be foolish to conclude, as many do, that all predictions containing references to comets are dealing with the same comet. A French-led Western offensive is launched with the intention of destroying the Iranian army before it can turn west and invade Macedonia: the interface which connects Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. The "assistance," however, will arrive "too late" to stop a force that, together with those of the Azeris, the Abkhazians, the southern Russian Moslems, the Kurds, the Iraqis, the Syrians, the Lebanese, the Persian-speaking Afghans and Pakistanis, the Turkmens and others, will be at least thirty million strong. Further west will the Moslem juggernaut roll, driving out all Western forces, be they NATO or EU, from the Balkans. Now the axis will overrun Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslav states of Croatia and Bosnia:

2.84 Between Campania, Sienna, Florence, Tuscany, Six months and nine days it will not rain a drop: A foreign language in the land of Dalmatia, It will overrun them: devastating the entire land.

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 All provinces and towns in Italy. Region of coastal Croatia. Dalmatia is often used by Nostradamus, along with Slavonia, to represent Croatia and Bosnia.

It seems that the Croats and Slovenes will be no match for the Iranian-led "empire of Antichrist." Apparently NATO or EU forces will also be ineffective at stopping the foreign conquest. Italy will be experiencing a six-month drought when the Moslems have complete control of Croatia and Bosnia. Italy, a staunch ally of Greece, will be siding with Athens against the Moslem axis. According to Nostradamus, rogue Arab states will have already established a presence in Croatia and Bosnia, having accessed it earlier via the Adriatic Sea:

9.60 Barbarian conflict in the black Corner: Bloodshed, Dalmatia trembles, Great Ishmael makes his promontory, Frogs tremble, Lusitania [Portugal] assists.
Probably Bihac, the scene of many battles during the 1992 -95 Bosnian conflict. Ishmael, the founder of the Arab nation. A derogatory metaphor in Nostradamus time and even in the 20th Century for the French.

Why they will be there is worthy of a chapter of speculation by itself. Currently, Iraq and Libya have forged alliances with Belgrade and Moscow. Neither supported the 1999 NATO air war against Yugoslavia, even though many other Arab countries applauded what they perceived to be a Western military defense of the ethnic Albanian Moslems. It may well be that a rogue Arab coalition spearheaded by Libya and Iraq will be formed to do the bidding of Russia and aid Yugoslavia against NATO forces. Whatever the reason the Arab forces will be in Croatia and Bosnia, the West will put up a valiant struggle. It will be remembered from Quatrain 5.27 that "Arab blood covers the Adriatic Sea" at the time of Irans invasion of northeastern Turkey. Now the Arabs are back again in full force along with the Persian-Median alliance. With Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Macedonia now conquered territories, Iran moves south again as Daniel prophesies and unleashes its deadly chemical and biological weapons:

9.91 The horrible plague at Perinthus and Nicopolis, The Gallipoli Peninsula [NW Turkey] taken and Macedonia,
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Thessaly devastated with Amphipolis, An unknown evil and denied by Anthony. 5.90 In the Cyclades, in Perinthus and Larisa [E. Greece], Within Sparta and all of the Peloponnesus [S. Greece]: So great a famine, pestilence through false dust, Nine months it will last throughout the whole peninsula.
Eregli in southern-most Turkey. Preveza in western Greece. Salonika in northeastern Greece. Islands in southeastern Greece.

It is now the utter finish for Turkey as a nation as the Persians forces capture the whole of Thrace (European Turkey). The fall of Macedonia indicates Moslem incursions will follow deeper into Bulgaria, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, a "plague of false dust" will engulf large regions of southern Turkey and much of Greece. This sounds suspiciously like the effects of plutonium dustone speck of which can kill a human beingrather than biological or chemical agents. However, according to Nostradamus, no one will ever know who was responsible for releasing the deadly substance into the Balkans environment. The prophet does indicate that suspicion will fall upon a leader or general named Anthony, or some variant of that name, who will deny his countrys involvement in the catastrophe. Could Anthony be Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair? Or could it be a general by the name of Anthony? Of course, by this time, there may well be a Greek leader named Anthony (Anthony is a popular Greek name). Although the atrocity will likely be committed by Iran, it will scarcely matter, for Nostradamus has written off the cause of this terrible plague as mal incogneuan evil which will remain a mystery for all time.

9.75 From Arta [NW Greece] and the country of Thrace [NE Greece] People ill by sea, aid from the French. In Provence their perpetual trace, Also vestiges of their customs and laws.
Southeastern district of France, bordering Monaco, and native home of Nostradamus.

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Iranian forces sweeping south from Macedonia engulf northern and central Greece. The fleeing populace will either be made ill from the mysterious "plague of false dust" unleashed earlier or biological attacks launched by the invading Iranian juggernaut. Many of the refugees will become "boat people" and will be granted asylum by the French government. There is also at least the suggestion in line 2 that French forces will engage the Iranians in western Greece near Arta. The last two lines describe a recurrent legend in The Centuries: that southern France was colonized by Francus, the son of King Priam of Troy.

3.64 The chief of Persia will fill up great Spain, A fleet of Warships against the people of Mohammed: Parthia and Media pillage the Cyclades, Then a long wait in the great Ionian port.
Another ancient Roman colony that is now comprised of eastern Iraq, Iran, and the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan. Southern Greek islands. The Ionian Sea is located between Greece, southern Italy, and eastern Sicily.

And so we return once again to this quatrain as the conquest of the Balkans is completed with the capture of the Greek Cyclades. Again, the astonishing claim by the prophet that the Persian conqueror will have managed to move his troops into Spain. And again I must ask whether Daniel ever intended us to understand the Persians and Medes pushing this far west. If they are harbored in the Ionian Sea, then the invasion of Spain must be accomplished by land. That would require the cooperation of North Africa. That Libya might be allied to Iran would certainly not be a surprise. But what of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia? Remember that the prophet Daniel says that the fourth king of Persia "will stir up all" against the realm of Grecia. Nostradamus uses exactly the same language as Daniel in the following quatrain:

1.73 France by her five partners is accused of neglect, Tunisia and Algeria are stirred up by the Persians: Leon, Seville, Barcelona will fail Not having the fleet because of the Venetians.
Those of northeastern Italy. Venice is a base of operations for NATO.

The neglect France is accused of by five of her European Union or NATO partners is unclear. The only thing truly certain is that Algeria and Tunisia will be incited to enter
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the war by Iran and will doubtlessly receive arms by the Persian conquerors government for this purpose. In lines 3 and 4 Spain is being set up for eventual slaughter, poorly defended due to an overextended French navy and concerted Italian efforts to contain North African forces below the 45th parallel. Again we cannot be certain if quatrains 3.64 and 1.73 reflect happenings in Daniels "war of the ram and goat" or if they belong to yet another conflict Daniel hints about and Nostradamus warns will occur some twenty-five to thirty years later. Although I suspect it may be the latter, the unthinkable is always possible soon rather than later. Daniel also says that the ram will continue to move northward as it moves farther west. There is evidence of this in Nostradamus and it is possible in a near-future context:

1.82 When the columns of wood tremble, The south wind will cover them with blood: Such a great assembly pours forth: Vienna trembles and the Land of Austria.

The axis will expand the war, moving the conflict northward into central Europe. The Arab and Moslem forces will invade Austria from the south (dAustre), departing from occupied Slovenia, when the trees tremble in the wind (i.e., the autumn).

5.68 In the Danube and the Rhine he will drink, The great Camel will not repent of it: The Rhone trembles and more so those of the Loire, And near the Alps the cock will ruin him.
A symbol for France, especially during the First and Second Republics.

The great Camel is likely to be an Arab in this instance. His army will invade Germany via Austria and, it appears from line 2, that he will pay a personal visit to the conquered country. It isnt completely certain how much of Germany will be occupied, but the reference to both the Danube and Rhine rivers, as well as to the Alps, suggests to me that the Arab force will remain in the south. Line 4 portends eventual defeat for "the Camel" near the French Alps by European Union troops.

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4.82 A mass approaches near from Slavonia, The Destroyer ruins the old city: Quite desolated will he see his Romania, Then will not know how to extinguish the great flame.
Western and northern Croatia. Eastern Slavonia borders Yugoslavia.

Iranian forces in eastern Slavonia will enter Romania from Serbia. Nostradamus calls the Persian conqueror, "the Destroyer." He will ruthlessly attack Romania's "old city"the capital Bucharestwhich will be immolated during a nuclear strike. The resulting fire will take a long time to extinguish itself, perhaps due to the prevailing weather conditions, and will probably spread to adjacent regions within Romania.

What about Russia, China, North Korea, and the rest? There are numerous quatrains describing a major war in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the Baltics. However, these appear to concern a future face-off between NATO and Russia: an event that may still be developing or already history by the time this book is published. However, it is critical to note that should Russia ever reclaim the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, that Moscow will govern the majority of what was once ancient Media. Should this occur, then a new Russian empire will be the upper horn of Daniels "ram": the key ally of Iran (Persia). Needless to say, the scope of the war between the ram and the goat would be far more devastating if Russia is fighting side-by-side with an Iranian-led Moslem federation. Unfortunately, Russia remains unpredictable to the bitter end. There are as many indications that Moscow would side with the West against Islamic fundamentalism as there are that it might "selectively" unite with certain Moslem nations. The increasing tensions between China and Taiwan and China and the United States may also play out before or during "the war of the ram and the goat." Although not mentioned by Daniel, it is not impossible that a second-front war in the Pacific will be waged at the same time Europe is contending with the Moslem axis. Nostradamus suggests such a scenario in only a few quatrains. Thus, determining the progress of such a conflict, should one occur, is all but impossible. It is also possible that China will work behind the scenes rather than engage in open conflict, supplying the Moslem axis with weapons of mass destruction. In all likelihood these developments too will be resolved or understood by the time this book is published. What role, if any, will the existing bete noires of the Middle East play during the first offensive by Iran and its allies? That is difficult to say. Although we have already touched upon the potential future of Iraq and Syria as envisioned by the biblical

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prophet Jeremiah, it is possible that by the time this book is read people like Saddam Hussein, Hafez al-Assad, and Osama bin Laden may no longer be among the living. Assad has grown old and is not likely to live many more years, bin Laden has a crippling degenerative disease, and Saddam continues to provoke a Western alliance which one day may finally succeed in putting him out of his misery. As to what potential heirs such as Uday Hussein and General Bashir Assad are likely to do when and if they come to power is subject to speculation. However, indications in Les Propheties are that Iraq, at least, will eventually be counted among Irans allies (since northern Iraq was a part of ancient Media, it is not unlikely that the entire country of Iraq will one day ally with Iran). The nation of Libya is also implicated in several future wars against the West, however whether this will occur under the leadership of Moammar Gadhafi is not at all certain. Gadhafi is currently playing the role of peace-maker in Africa and is courting the European Union. The question, obviously, is what actually is Gadhafi up to? Of course our perceptions of good and bad are entirely subjective. On the other hand, the prophet Daniel is quite objective. One cannot determine from his account whether the "king of Persia" or the "king of the west" are "good" or "evil." Nor does he tell us what it is that motivates the "king of Persia" to declare war. Even Nostradamus is fairly noncommittal about the motives of "the Persian." There is one historical precedent that immediately comes to mind: World War I. This was not a war waged by an evil dictator like Adolf Hitler. There were no protagonists or antagonists only men doing what each believed was right as circumstances developed. Distinctions such as "good" and "bad" became blurred. Because a Serb national assassinated the Archduke of Austria and his Duchess, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of this, Russia mobilized its army along the borders of Austria and Germany. Because of this Germany declared war on Russia. Because France supported the Russian action, Germany declared war on France. And so on. Although it was convenient for the "Allies" to portray Germanys Kaiser Wilhelm II as the bete noir of "the Great War," in the end it was the actions of an angry private citizen with a handgun, radicalized by two Balkan conflicts that ended the previous year, that were evil. In the end it was the war itself that was evil. It may very well be that Daniels "fourth king of Persia" and Nostradamus "the Persian" will be a 21st-century, Moslem version of Kaiser Wilhelm. Not an antichrist in the Hitlerian sense or any sense. However, Nostradamus is quite unambiguous about the second confrontation between Moslem East and Christian West: the man who will incite that conflict will be evil enough to have conferred upon him the title of "third antichrist": and he will rule the "great Empire of Antichrist." This second war will be discussed later in the book.

A He-Goat Comes Out of the West and Destroys the Ram Nostradamus concurs with this observation by Daniel as well.
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2.79 The curly, black beard through skill Subjugates people both cruel and proud: The great CHIREN will take from afar All those captured by the Lunar banner.
Anagram or approximation of future or existing French leader. The lunar crescent - a symbol of Islam and one which appears on many flags.

This quatrain describes a new, dreadful leader of the Iranians (gent cruelle & fiere). He will have a curly, black beard. The second half of this stanza anticipates his eventual defeat by a French leader named Chiren, a name which I believe may be an anagram or approximation of ChiracPresident Jacques Chirac of France. Daniels "he goat" must be the European Union. Although the presidency of the European Union is currently under rotation, one day it will doubtlessly be synonymous with France, its most powerful member. As its leader, Chiren, will then fulfill the prophecies of Daniel and Nostradamus concerning the "first king" ("the great horn") who comes out of the West to do battle with Persia and Media, bringing about their utter defeat. Although President Chirac, in many ways, appears to possess the potential to fulfill Nostradamus' vision of a French millennial super-leader, there are several quatrains which seem to contradict this notion. We will confront these contrary predictions which may favor an as-of-yet unknown Henry Vin future chapters. Therefore, although the name Chirac will appear frequently, the reader is advised to keep an open mind to other potential candidates as well. Echoing Jeremiahs prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon (part of one of the horns of Daniels ram), Nostradamus offers a compelling scenario as to who might conduct the great army which will bring about Iraqs destruction:

10.86 Like a griffin will come the king of Europe Accompanied by those of Russia: Of reds and whites he will lead a great troop And go against the king of Babylon.
Note that by this time, Russia is an ally of Europe.

If this is not Chiren then it is a king of Europe who will rule much later (possibly the beast of Revelation). However, I suspect this is Daniels "great horn" who will smite
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the horns of the ram and break them into pieces. Iraq and the Medes will be first. In the meantime, Chiren will crush the Iranian forces occupying Turkey and in northern Iran itself:

6.85 The great city of Tarsus [S. Turkey] by the French Will be destroyed, all captured at Turan [N. Iran]: Assistance by sea from the great Portuguese, The first day of summer, Urban's consecration.
The holy day of Saint Urban: May 25.

In the following quatrain, Nostradamus tells us that the new monarch will have one important enemy leader captured and brought to his court. Afterwards will follow war-crimes trials:

4.34 The great man led captive from a foreign land, Chained in gold, offered to King CHYREN: He who in Ausonia [S. Italy] and Milan will lose the war, And all his army put to fire and steel.

The Great Horn Becomes Mighty

6.70 A chief of the world the great Chyren shall be, After PLUS OULTRE, loved, feared, dreaded: His fame and praise surpass the heavens, And with the sole title of victor is most content. Daniel 8:5, 8:21 An he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth...and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes...and the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Plus outr Carol Quint was the motto of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The prophetic name for the European Union or a future European empire. It may also be a dependency of the European empire, i.e., the Balkans.

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This king is named by the prophet variously as Chyren, Chiren, Chyren Selin, and Selin monarque. Most commentators believe Chyren to be an anagram of Henryc: the Old French spelling of Henry. The name Henry would have held much symbolic significance to Nostradamus: Henry I was the grandson of Hugh Capet, the founder of the extensive Capetian dynasty and the French monarchy itself (Capet appears symbolically throughout Les Propheties as well). Henry II, of course, was the husband of Nostradamus' most powerful of patrons: Catherine de' Medicis. It remains to be seen whether Chyren does presage a fifth French king named Henry, the long awaited Henry V or Henry Cinq, or is simply a metaphorical name for a French leader of great fame. I should point out that the modern French spelling of Chyren should be "Chiren" (a "y" would become an "i" in this case), and Nostradamus also spells it that wayevery letter capitalizedin Quatrain 2.79. It is my belief that this is the spelling the prophet actually intended for our generation to understand, which is the reason why he spotlighted it in The Centuries in such a conspicuous fashion. Therefore, it is the form I use throughout the book. I believe it is entirely possible that, in addition to the medieval variation Henric, Chiren is also an anagram or approximation of an actual surname, a Nostradamian pun. On May 7, 1995, the Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, was elected to succeed Francois Mitterand as President of France. The conservative Chirac enjoyed a sweeping victory over the socialite candidate Lionel Jospin. Today he is the most influential and charismatic leader in Western Europe. Perhaps Chiren is an anagram or approximation of Chirac? As long ago as the spring of 1992 I was predicting in early drafts of this book Jacques Chirac's victory in France's 1995 presidential election purely on the basis of the similarity between "Chiren" and "Chirac." According to Nostradamus, Chiren will restore the French monarchy a few years before he is made emperor of Europe. According to Daniel "the great horn" will be "the first king" of the West and "will wax mighty." Will the French office of president eventually give way to a full-blown monarchy? Only time will tell. It should be noted that since each term of office is seven years, Chirac could become quite powerful before elections are held again in 2002: the year that eleven members of the European Union"Euroland"are scheduled to actually begin using the euro as a hard cash common currency (the coins for that year have already been minted and the paper printed). This may also be the year that the predicted "great King of Angoumois [France]" will actually come to power. By May 2002, the end of Chiracs first term, international developments may well lead to a popular movement in France to restore the monarchy and Mr. Chirac could be crowned as king by public acclaim. Then again, Chirac may simply win a second term in office at that time and be made monarch during the mid-decade. However, in all fairness to those who believe "Chiren" or "Chyren" to be a future Henry, President Chirac could lose the 2002 presidential race to a candidate named Henri.

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What do we know of President Jacques Chirac, the former Mayor of Paris? Does he exhibit the sort of qualities one might expect to find in a future Charlemagne? Does anything about his personal profile match that of Nostradamus, Herculean figure, Chiren Selin? Jacques Chirac was General Charles DeGaulle's self-appointed heir. His election marked the end of a 20-year campaign. He will preside in office as president until the year 2002 (a seven-year term) and has overwhelming parliamentary support. He is fond of the United States and speaks some English. He has been married to his current wife, Bernadette, since 1956, and they have two daughters. He believes in affirming a strong commitment to Europe and the European Union. He is also an active participant in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. He is also the most charismatic and popular Western European leader: only British Prime Minister Tony Blair is Chiracs equal. President Chirac has learned the lessons of the Second World War. In a 1995 speech he asserted: "Let us learn the lessons of history; let us not allow ourselves to be the passive witnesses or accomplices to the unacceptable." Needless to say, the regal chief executive who made Bosnia his top international priority later included the Middle East to his diplomatic agenda, visiting President Hafez al-Assad of Syria in October 1996 and offering to mediate between the Israelis and Palestinians following three days of armed conflict in the West Bank and Gaza in late September and ensuing strained relations. He has visited the Middle East many times since, offering to negotiate peace between Syria and Israel. The mystery of the other name associated with Chiren"selin"is another matter altogether. Selin is derived from the Greek Selene, the moon goddess. The significance of the moon or lunar crescent is manifold:

As a device, emblem, standard, coat-of-arms, etc. (Henry II adopted the moon as his device. In heraldry, the crescent moon is the symbol for the second son.) As the symbol of Islam. The crescent moon also appears on the flags of a number of Moslem nations, including Turkey, Algeria, and Pakistan. Chiren may originally befriend the Islamic world (as Chirac has been doing). But in the end, according to Nostradamus, he will be forced to defeat the armies of Mohammad. As a surname. (Some New Age commentators have attempted to link '"selin" with the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. However, how does this link up with Chiren who is portrayed by the prophet as a native of France? Also, despite the linkage of '"selin"" with "moon," the closest anyone might be able to come to making either "chiren" or "chyren" function as a word meaning "sun" is the Greek word chrysos which means "gold"a rather lukewarm approximation at best.) As a nickname. For example, French President Jacques Chirac was nicknamed "Hiro-Chirac" (a play on the name of the late Japanese emperor Hirohito and the city of
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Hiroshimathe first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon) by opponents of his 1995-96 nuclear tests in the Pacific Islands. Caricatures of Chirac superimposed over the symbol of the atom or a mushroom cloud appeared on protest posters. Perhaps one day Chiren will befriend the Islamic nations. As a contemporaneous event, especially one of monumental significance. According to Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky (1950), Romulus, the first king and founder of Rome, was identified with the planet Mars after a close encounter between Earth and the red planet caused worldwide destruction. According to Nostradamus, Chiren's star will rise when the moon becomes the color of blood. As a symbol associated with the economy of Chiren's government. The design for the currency of the European Union, the "euro," is a large, capital "C" with two horizontal bars running through it. The "C" resembles a crescent moon. Finally, and this may be more applicable to someone other than Jacques Chirac, Chiren may worship the late Princess Diana as his patron saint. There are several quatrains written by Nostradamus that indicate the worship of Diana will become a major religion existing side by side or within the framework of a new Christianity. In the ancient world, Diana was worshipped as the goddess of the moon (in Greek her name was Selene or Artemis). In the new millennium, those who worship the saint, angel, or goddess the world once knew as Diana, Princess of Wales, will also associate her with the moon.

Clearly Nostradamus, a dedicated monarchist, was quite excited by the majestic destiny forecast for his country and for Europe. Nostradamus reveals the native origins of the future Charlemagne in line 4 of this stanza:

4.95 The rule left to two, they will hold it a short time, Three years and seven months passed they will go to war. The two vassals will rebel against them, The victor born in Armorique territory.
This is generally held to be the two great nuclear powers: Russia and the United States. This may or may not be the NATO-Russian conflict in Eastern and Central Europe I alluded to earlier. Dependencies, territories that are a part of a larger country. Kosovo is a "vassal" of Yugoslavia. "Chechnya" is a "vassal" of Russia. Ancient name for French Brittany

Quatrain 4.95 may apply to the concurrent conflicts in Bosnia (1992 - 1995) and Chechnya (the first war, 1994 - 1996). President Jacques Chirac was instrumental in persuading NATO leaders to take a firm hand against the Bosnian Serbs in 1995. However, in light of the spring 1999 war in Yugoslavia over Kosovo followed by the
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second Chechen conflict, this quatrain may still be one for the future. Will Chirac take the lead again? Or will another French leader? Nostradamus may be describing the restoration of the French monarchy again, somewhat more memorably, in Quatrain 10.72:

10.72 In the year 1999 and seven months, From the sky will come a great King of terror. The great King of Angoumois will be resuscitated. Before and after, Mars will reign by good fortune.
This was either July 1999 (Gregorian calendar) or September/October 1999 (Julian calenda r). Either the air campaign of Yugoslavia by US President Bill Clinton and NATO (March -June 1999) or aerial bombing, missile attacks, and ground conflict waged against Chechnya by Russian President Vladimir Putin (September 1999 - ????).

Angoumois is an historic province of western France and here is used as a synecdoche for France itself. Clearly it is being indicated that some time after 1999possibly as early as 2002the presidency of France will be transformed into a monarchy. Nostradamus may also be reminding us in 4.95 that the victor of World War III will be born in Armorique terre. Armorique is an archaic name for French Brittany, that is, northwestern France. Chiren's empire will be greater than that of Emperor Charles V. Since Charles ruled most of Europesave for France and the British Islesas far east as Hungary, this suggests that the scope of the future emperor's rule will be quite extensive. Quatrain 6.70 attests to the greatness of Chiren's empire:

6.70 The great Chiren will be chief of the world, After PLUS OULTRE, loved, feared, dreaded: His fame and praise surpass the heavens, And with the sole title of victor is most content.
Plus outr Carol Quint was the motto of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

As various quatrains on the future of the papacy confirm, this great king of France will help restore a pope to power, and these two personalities will share in the victory over Iran and its allies, and co-rule over the embryonic European Empire. Indeed, the newly-elected pope, who will also be French, will personally raise forces of his own to aid in the liberation of Europe.
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As far back as the time of Merlin, prophets have foreseen this eventuality. Merlin himself predicted the arrival of a messianic king of France and the rightful pope, referred to also by a number of classical, medieval, and early modern prophets, as "the Great Monarch" and "the Great Pontiff." One physical description of the future king and emperor, provided by the seventeenthcentury commentator David Poreaus, states that he will have a large forehead, dark eyes, brown hair, and a hawk nose (an accurate description of French President Jacques Chirac). He is "Hugh, the brown-haired, the irresistible" to the Irish prophet St. Columbkille.

And When He Was Strong the Great Horn Was Broken

8.5 There will appear a luminous, ornate temple, The lamp and candle at Borne and Breteuil, For the canton of Lucerne will turn When one will see the great cock in his shroud.
Borne is located in the eastern Netherlands. Located in northern France. North-western Switzerland. The cock was the revolution-period symbol for France.

Nostradamus writes much about the future emperor including his death. Maurice LaCasse (1992), on the other hand, has reached the inescapable conclusion that Chiren must be an anagram or reference for Christ. That seems highly unlikely, however, since in Quatrain 4.77 we are told that "the Christian king of the world, dying, will wish to be buried in Blois territory after having chased the barbarians from the sea." As further testimony to his mortality, his magnificent funeral is vividly described above in Quatrain 8.5. Chiren, therefore, is a mortal man not a dieu eternel. With the death of the "great horn" the empire in Europe will be forced to look elsewhere for a successor. This is the subject of the next key and our next chapter.

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THE SECOND KEY

In the last chapter it was established that a number of Nostradamus quatrains corresponded with many of the events predicted by the Old Testament prophecies of Daniel. Much time was spent comparing key verses by the French prophet and the majority of Daniel Chapter 8 and the first three passages of Daniel Chapter 11. This was the first key. The second key calls for abandoning every misconception readers have held regarding Nostradamus Epistle to Henry II. The predictions in the Epistle are not scrambled as they are in the quatrainsthey are presented in chronological sequence. Most of the Epistle to Henry II corresponds with Daniel Chapter 11 and the little that remains of Chapter 8 (8:22-27).
Daniel 8:9-14, which was left out of the last chapter, is a mystic riddle concerning the identity of the beast of Revelation and its solution will be found in the quatrains. I will discuss this in the next chapter.

The Four Notable Ones

Daniel 11:1-4 Also I,* in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia: and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.** And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his
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dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
* The prophet Daniel. ** We have established that this king is the "great horn" who corresponds with Nostradamus Chiren, future French monarch and Emperor of Europe. This signifies the death of "the great horn." This relates to Daniel 8:21 (see next page). North, south, east, and west. The "great horn" will leave behind him no male heir to the throne [posterity]. His empire will be divided up four ways and the seat of the empire will shift from the monarchs country [France] to another European nation. This is a brief remark but an important one. The empire will come under the dominion of various kings, through conquest and through succession, over the many years ahead.

The last verse corresponds with Daniel 8:8:

Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong the great horn was broken; and for it came four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
The great horn will succeeded by four notable European leaders. North, south, east, and west.

And now again verse 8:21 and, for the first time, verse 8:22:

And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
The four leaders who succeed "the great horn" will have "supported" him in some way probably as allies in war. Four countries or country groups. Read "empire" for "nation." The seat of the empire will shift to another country.

It is my intention to present the remainder of Daniel 11 from the fifth verse onward in this chapter. It is also my intention to present the entire Epistle to Henry II here as well. However, first the link between the two prophetic chronicles must be established at this point or all is lost. The "four notable ones" mentioned by Daniel correspond to
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four other key figures mentioned by Nostradamus at the beginning of the prose prophecy chronicle of his Epistle to Henry II. This link is the second key:

For God will long regard the barrenness* of the great lady,** who soon afterwards shall conceive two principal children. But, being in peril, she will to him give birth with risk of death at the term of her eighteenth year, and not able to conceive beyond the age of thirty-six, shall leave behind her three males and one female, and of these two will not ever have had any of the same father. The differences between the three brothers shall be such, though united and agreed, that the three and four parts of Europe will tremble.
* This is the only reference by Nostradamus in his Epistle that threatens to upset my theory. I cannot explain what he means by "barrenness." ** A great queen who rules a long time in lieu of a male heir to the throne. Two of her children will become more important and powerful than the others. Her first son will be born with some difficulty when she is around the age of 18. She will be unable to have any more children after the age of 36. Her offspring will be four in number: three sons and a daughter. This suggests one of two possibilities: two of the four siblings were fathered by someone other than the queens consort or the daughter will have two children by two different men. These are the "three brothers" prophesied by Nostradamus in many of his quatrains. Europe will be divided up first into three parts and then four. Difference between the three brothers will cause great unrest throughout the empire.

By the lesser in years* shall the Christian monarchy** be upheld and augmented; sects shall rise and presently be put down again; the Arabians shall be put back; kingdoms shall be united and new laws made. Concerning the other children, the first shall possess the furious crowned Lions, holding their paws upon the escutcheons. The second, well attended by the Latins, will go so deep among the Lions, that a second trembling and furious descent will be made
* The youngest son. ** Nostradamus has already characterized the future European empire as a Christian one under the French monarch, Chiren, "the great Christian monarch of the world." The eldest son. In heraldry this is one of the British and English royal coats -of-arm. The Italians. The British. The lion is the symbol for England. It appears that Italy will be ruled by the second son and will go to war with Britain.

The daughter shall be given for the preservation of the Church, the dominate part of it falling into the Pagan sect of the new unbelievers, and she will have two children, one from faithfulness, and the other from unfaithfulness, by the confirmation of the Catholic Church. The son, who to his confusion and late
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repentance, shall go about to ruin her, shall have three regions over a wide extent of leagues, that is to say, the Roman, the German, and the Spanish
As indicated a few lines down, the Catholic Church. I believe the phrase "the Pagan sect of the new unbelievers" is Nostradamus way of describ ing New Age religions. There is no other way of interpreting this in a modern context. This clarifies the meaning of footnote 19 one of the children will be an adulterine. The daughters son becomes the fourth notable one. He will be nearly as powe rful as his three uncles. It appears that he will also be a rather unpleasant and rebellious fellow.

This is sufficient for our purposes thus far. To continue further we would soon be analyzing the entire Epistlesomething that will be done soon enough. Before proceeding with such an examination, it is critical that we make sense of this portion of the Epistle and its link to Daniel 11:4, 8:8, and 8:22. This will also involve some comparison with key Nostradamus quatrains. Thus far, it has been established that Nostradamus "Chiren" is the prophet Daniels "great horn": the victor of World War III. This is important, since Daniel suggests that he will not rule in his capacity as emperor for a very long period of time. Guesswork would suggest that he will die five-to-ten years after attaining the new imperial throne. This man may or may not be President Jacques Chirac of France. If so, then this war and his reign cannot be far off. If not, it will likely be his immediate successor to the French presidency since the conditions for a holy war between Christians and Moslems accompanied by an inter-Moslem war in both the Middle East and the Balkans is quite likely to occur sometime during the first decade of the 21st Century. I have determined, partly through a new system of numerology I have been using since 1996, that the death of Chiren will occur sometime between 2009 and 2016. Also, since so much significance has been accorded the year 2012 by various prophets old and new, this may be the actual year power is transferred from France to the nation of "the four notable ones."
This system is quite complex and will not be discussed at any great length in this book. Indeed, it could well be the subject of yet another book. For those who are curious it is discussed on my web site, Nostradamus and the New Prophecy Almanacs, at http://www.newprophecy.net.

And who are they? Logic dictates that they must not only be living at the present time, but they must also be in their adult years. The "three males and one female" who begin the Epistle are definitely analogous to "the four notable ones" who appear in Daniels prophecy as the heirs of the "great horn." We are reminded by Daniel in 11:4 that when they come to power, their reign will "not [be according] to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled." They will not be his children, in other words, nor even his fellow countrymen.

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Mention of "the great lady" who rules long under the watchful eye of God indicates we have been introduced to a great queenone who will rule for many years and produce four offspring: three sons and a daughter. Nostradamus tells us that the empire is divided up between the four siblings upon Chiren's death and that they will rule "the three and four parts of Europe." However, "the daughter" will sacrifice her political power and her son will be given territory in three countries to reign over. The prophetic evidence is overwhelming. These royal siblings must be the four children of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. She does indeed have four children: three sons and a daughterCharles, Andrew, Edward, and Annejust as the first passage specifies. Without a doubt, the eldest son, Charles, is heir apparent to the "furious crowned Lions" (see next paragraph). Queen Elizabeth was 21 when Charles was born in 1948not far from the "term of her eighteenth year" predicted by Nostradamus, although not in any danger of death. The youngest child, Edward, was born in 1964 when the Queen was 38again, quite close to the age of 36 specified by the French seer as the time when she would no longer be able to continue to bear any more children. Indeed, the House of Windsor is currently the only royal family in the entire world which conforms so closely to Nostradamus specifications. According to the prediction, the eldest brother will inherit the throne of Great Britain: "the furious crowned Lions, holding their paws upon the escutcheons." In heraldry, crowned lions are only to be found in this way in the British, English, and Scottish coats-of-arms. There is no other way to interpret this sentence, which more than likely makes the queen of this passage English rather than some other nationality. Unless the British monarchy fails and Great Britain falls under the leadership of a foreign government, the eldest son cannot be anyone other than Charles, the British Crown Prince. The three brothers are also the enigmatic "three brothers" who keep popping up in the quatrains and are most definitely not the Kennedys as nearly all commentators insist. Further contemporary evidence is provided by Nostradamus description of the "daughter" and her children. One of them, born in wedlock, will be the product of an adulterous affair because Nostradamus positively states: "she will have two children, one from faithfulness, and the other from unfaithfulness." This is an amazingly accurate forecast concerning the fourth sibling: Princess Anne. Princess Anne does indeed have two children: her son, Peter Philips, currently age 19, and daughter Zara, age 16. Like her brothers Charles and Andrew, Anne was also the subject of much scandalous gossip before and after her divorce from Captain Mark Philips. During her marriage it was made public that she was romantically involved with Timothy Laurence, now her second husband. It was also alleged, but never proven, that at least one of the children was actually fathered by Laurence and not Mark Philips ("she will have two children, one from faithfulness, and the other from unfaithfulness").

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Nothing predicted in the Epistle concerning the "second" son, Prince Andrew, or the "lesser in years," Prince Edward, has any contemporary significanceat least not at this writing. But great things are obviously in store for them as we have already glimpsed. Prince Andrew will become leader over the Latinsthe nation of Italy. Meanwhile, as mind-boggling as it may sound, Edward will become the second emperor of Europe and his wife, Sophie (not mentioned in the opening prophecy), will become empress. At this point, we must depart from the Epistle and check to see if our findings can be further bolstered by what Nostradamus discussed in his quatrains. Much of Western Europe falls under the dominion of an emperor whom Nostradamus identifies as Ogmios, a mysterious Celtic and Brythonic god known to both the Gallic and insular Celts. The Irish called him "Oghma," and the Britons, Bretons, and Gauls referred to him as "Ogmius" or "Ogmios," but it is difficult to determine where this figure first turned up (it remains a conundrum among Celtic-Briton authorities to this day). He was the equivalent in Celtic mythology to Hercules, although he was also empowered with an irresistible oratory prowess. Thus, he was often represented as a great bald giant drawing men in his train by chains connecting their ears to his tongue.

6.42 To Ogmios the kingdom will be left Of the great Chiren Selin who will do even more: Throughout the Italies he will extend his ensign, And will rule by prudent counterfeit.

Ogmios is either a Celt or Briton and thus, by extension, a French, British, or Belgian royal. In terms of the Epistle to Henry II, Ogmios is the youngest son of a queen Nostradamus calls "the great lady." If the great lady is Elizabeth II, this would make Prince Edward the appointed heir of Chiren (Jacques Chirac?). This deduction is based in part on Nostradamus' assertion that the eldest brother, Charles, will already have attained the throne of Britain: "the furious crowned Lions, holding their paws upon the escutcheons [shields]." Also in Quatrain 5.99, the scryer of Salon says that Italy will be ruled by an "old British chief," and in Quatrain 1.33 he calls Ogmios "the great lion with the imperial forces." We therefore can only arrive at two possible conclusions: the four notable ones are either the principal successors of the House of Windsor or else they are members of a royal house from a neighboring "Celtic" nation. In the second instance, they cannot refer to the children of the current king and queen of Belgium, of which there are only two, not four. If they are to belong to a future Royal House of France, that would require Chiren to produce three sons and one daughter. This would tend to leave Jacques Chirac out of the equation: Chirac has two daughters and no sons. If a French royal line of succession is in the cards for the early 21st
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Century, then it would have to be originated by someone other than President Chirac (a future political opponent named Henri?). In any event, a French dynasty at this point in time would definitely not be in keeping with the prophet Daniels vision. Also, in one quatrain, Nostradamus describes a deathbed arrangement where a French emperor discusses details for a succeeding European administration with emissaries of the Vatican ("the Cross"), an American delegation ("the Eagle"), and members of the Royal House of Great Britain ("the Lion"). One note: should the eldest son of a foreign royal family become the possessor of "the Lions" (Great Britain), that would mean the termination of the British monarchy sometime during the next decade. I find this latter scenario quite unlikely. In any event, Ogmios (Prince Edward?) will expand the empire eastward to include Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He will war with a coming Turkish version of Saddam Hussein, attempt to restore the Byzantine Empire, and will crush the "pagan" cults proliferating throughout his kingdoms:

5.80 Ogmios will approach great Byzantium, The barbarian league will be driven out: Of the two laws the pagan one fails, Barbarian and freeman in perpetual conflict.

Great Britain, of course, will be ruled by the eldest son, and most of Italy will be given as a principality to Hadrie, the second-born son. The name Hadrie is derived from Adriatic, which implies that this monarch of Italy may also be presented with territories in the Balkans by his emperor-brother. However, it should also be noted that Hadrie is not a half-bad Nostradamian anagram for Andrew. To the sister's sonknown in the quatrains variously as the "great nephew," "the Duke," and the "nephew of the blood"the Latin islands, much of Spain, and all of Germany which lies below the 50th degree of latitude will be given. If everything else is accurate, this individual must be the son of Princess Anne: Peter Philips. By the onset of the time frame mentioned earlier, 2009 - 2016, he will be between the ages of 28 and 35: a capable age for leadership.

The Kings of the North and South, The Ignoble King, and the Great Destroyer At this point we will now return to the prophet Daniel and resume Chapter 11 from verse 4 to its conclusion at verse 45. We will also complete Chapter 8:23-27 which mirrors the final verses of Chapter 11. Afterwards, when analyzing the Epistle to Henry II, it will become abundantly clear that these themes are repeated in the same sequence by Nostradamus.

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Daniel 11:4-45 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.
The great horn. Transfer of power to the four notable ones.

The final two phrases of this verse are too critical to merely footnote. "His kingdom"the European empire ruled over by the great hornshall come under the control of many other leaders after the reign of "the four notable ones." For this period of time we are not given any information. However, there is ample evidence provided by Nostradamus to indicate that Europe will be ruled over by several dynasties during "the final age." There will also be a number of wars during which most of Europe and portions of Europe will be conquered and occupied by foreign leaders; however, the occupation periods will be brief (as was the case with the Nazi occupation).

And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes: and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

Again, I feel footnotes would not do this passage justice. From both Daniels and Nostradamus frame of reference, "the south" would be North Africa and Arabia. Since we are still in the period contemporaneous with the reign of "the great horn" and "the four notable ones," it is tempting to conclude that this first "king of the south" will be someone such as Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, especially since we are told that he will have many princes. The powerful prince who succeeds him may well be his eldest son, Saef al-Islam ("the Sword of Islam"). If so, his empire will be greater than that of his father. We have now tied up all of the loose ends regarding the immediate future. We have established that dynasties will flourish in both Europe and Africa-Arabia. Daniel now projects us to the final decades of human history.

And in the end of years* they shall join themselves together; for the kings daughter of the south** shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand,

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nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
* The "latter days" (i.e., the latter age of history). ** The king of the souths daughter. A princess (or queen) of the south, in other words. If "the south" is Africa-Arabia, then "the north" must be Europe, along with Russia and former Soviet Slavic republics such as Ukraine and Belarus. It should be noted that when Daniel identifies someone as a leader "of the south" or "of the north" he could mean one nation from the region, a federation of nations, or the entire geographical region. He never specifies; but one might decipher his intention in the context of the reading. An alliance involving a military pact will be negotiated between "the north" (Russia or Europe) and all or part of the African-Arabian region. However, although an agreement will be signed, it will not be honored. During a time of war, the north will fail to aid the south as agreed. They will allow the signatories the princess (or queen), accompanying diplomats (they that brought her), her father (he that begat her), and her consort (he that strengthened her) to be conquered and captured by a foreign menace.

But out of a branch of her roots* shall one stand up in his estate,** which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
* A cousin of the princess is the most likely interpretation. ** This indicates that although he will be designated "king of the south" he will likely only be leader over part of the region. He will go to war with the north either to rescue his family or to avenge their honour. This is key: by dealing "against them" Daniel is indicating that there will more than one northern king. The significance of this will be appreciated when we analyze Nostradamus Epistle to Henry II. Identifies Egypt as one of the countries over which he will rule. This southern king will rule longer than his rival leader (or leaders) in the north.

So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.* But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.** And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth to fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
* By returning to "his own land" (unidentified) it is suggested that Egypt is but one of the nations ruled over by the king of the south. This may indicate that neighboring Libya is his true homeland. ** This is confusing. This may indicate that other Arab and African countries ruled by the southern kings sons will either go to war with the north or with each other. Some sort of African civil war is indicated when one of the sons returns and is stirred up against his own fathers fort. The king of the south at war with his son (an ally of the north?). The king of the south at war with the king of the north for yet a second time. The south shall suffer many casualties during the war.

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And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.* For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former,** and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fail. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
* The king of the south shall recoup his losses and summon a greater army to fight again. He will destroy many tens of thousands of the northern kings army, but it will avail him not. ** The king of north will invade and conquer the south. Re-conquest of the south and its occupation by the king of the north. The king of Europe or Russia will become a most unpopular fellow. Many nations, including Arab nations of the Middle East ("the robbers of thy people"), will attempt to self-full prophecy and destroy the power of the north but shall fail. The greatest and best-defended cities of Africa and Arabia will conquered by the northern king. The south will be utterly defeated and subjugated. Still, according to an earlier verse, this king of the south will rule longer than the king of the north. Therefore, the region of the south under his domain must be quite expansive enough so for him to go to into hiding in African nations much further to the south.

But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land,* which by his hand shall be consumed.** He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him: thus shall he do: and he shall give them the daughter of women, corrupting her; but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.
* The European or Russian king will invade Israel. ** This seems impossible: Israel destroyed? We must conclude that the destruction is not absolute. The northern king will seek to cement a peace with the king of the south with the gift of a beautiful woman in his keep who has international fame. The woman, however, will not find the southern king to her taste. The islands of the Mediterranean? The British Isles? The Amer icas? Presumably this is a veiled reference to nuclear attack. Uncertain. An ally of the northern king succeeds in negotiating an end to the conflict, only to find himself under attack by the forces of the north.

Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.*
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Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.** And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overthrown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
* The king of the north (Europe or Russia) shall die returning to his own country. ** A new leader succeeds the king of the north; however, his reign will be brief. He will die of natural causes or under mysterious circumstances. The "vile person" is the one who will become Antichrist, the beast described in Revelation by the New Testament prophet John at Patmos. In some editions of the Bible he is also called "the Great Destroyer." He will arise in one of the northern nations (Europe or Russia). If ascendancy to power means through election or confirmation by a governing body, the "vile" king will initially fail to achieve his goal. A second, successful attempt to gain power is made by the "the Gre at Destroyer" of the north. The Antichrist-to-be will overthrow the government and set up a dictatorship. The final pope will be overthrown and put to death.

And after the league made with him* he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.** He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches; yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
* The regime of the vile king is established. ** The new king of the north will be obscure to many people since he will originally have only a small following. The tactics of the vile king of the north will be quite novel and unprecedented. He will seek to make everyone his friend so that he may expand his rule. The phrase "forecast devices" simply means "to calculate or plot a scheme" or simply "to scheme against." Ultimate defeat of the king of the south. The Great Destroyer goes to war with the Arab -African king. This is the same southern king who Daniel said would reign longer than the king of the north, whom he warred with and suffered much devastation by. Both the king of the south and the new king of the north (Antichrist -to-be) will be thoroughly evil. Both will delight in war and the mass destruction of human beings. Indeed, the southern king will have competed with the vile northern king to become the prophesied Antichrist. But the vision will fail to be established for the time is not yet.

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Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant;* and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south: but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.** For the ships of Chittum shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
* The vile king will begin to turn his heart against all of Christendom. ** A new war will break out between north and south. Chittum is Greece. This means that Greece will become allied to the south, suggesting that the south is now comprised of more than Africa and Arabia. Other portions of southern Europe, such as Spain, may also be a part of the southern empire. The destroyer shall become angry with God and the tenants of Chr istendom. The destroyer will seek out the company and advice of an anti -Christian sect. The dark lord will begin to assert himself as the Antichrist. He will desecrate the Church, cause Christian worship to cease, and "place the abomination that maketh desolate." This latter phrase has been widely debated among Bible scholars as to its meaning. It may mean that the image of Jesus on the Cross will be replaced by an idol of the beast and worshipped in the House of God. It is sufficient to know that whatever it is it will be enough of an "abomination" to God that He will eventually unleash His wrath upon mankind.

And such that do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.* And they that understand among the people shall instruct many;** yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
* Although not terribly specific, this suggests that Christendom, wherever it may be, will rise up against the Antichrist and his policies. ** The final mass conversions of sinners by the faithful in Christ will take place. Anticipates the persecution of Christians to come. Just as some Germans aided, even sheltered the persecuted Jews in Nazi Germany, so too will citizens of the dark lords kingdom aid persecuted Christians. Some Christians will be persuaded to renounce their faith. The genocide of Christians is anticipated here.

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.*
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Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women,** nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships: and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
* The dark lord shall think himself more powerful than God Himself. If there is any doubt before this point that he is the Antichrist, the beast of Revelation, there is no longer any doubt now. ** An important clue: the beast will be celibate, nor will he marry. Most Bible scholars believe that the "God of forces" is Satan. This is a second god, one to whom the king will bestow most of his honour and worship to. This god will never have been worshipped before and is alien to any that existed during or prior to the prophet Daniels time. He will force his subjects to worship both gods. This is a new southern king. Since it has already been established that "the north" can be either Europe or Russia and its Slavic neighbors, it is most probable that this northern king is the leader of Russia. This definitely identifies the Antichrist as the King of Europe. The Antichrist will go to war with both Africa-Arabia and Russia and Eastern Europe. He will invade and conquer many nations in both regions.

He shall enter also into the glorious land,* and many countries shall be overthrown;** but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
* The beast occupies Israel. ** The great destroyer will conquer many nations in the Middle East. Northeastern Egypt. Western Jordan. The King of Jordan. He shall conquer Egypt.

But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,* and over all the precious things of Egypt;** and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

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* The Antichrist will control the economy of the Middle East. ** The economy and archeological treasures of Egypt. Libya and Ethiopia (North Africa to the Horn of Africa) shall become allied with Antichrist. With the Middle East conquered, it is clear that the east" must be the Far Eastern nations. First and foremost among them will be China. The north: Russia again. The Antichrist will set out to go to war with China and Russia (and their allies). Mount Zion. The beasts last stand shall be in the field of Armageddon (Megiddo) according to the prophet John. The destruction of the Antichrist is anticipated.

Daniel 12:1-4 And at that time shall Michael* stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:** and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to an fro, and knowledge shall be increased
* The archangel Michael. ** The Battle of Armageddon. The final and terrible war that ushers in the Second Coming of Christ. The book of life mentioned by the prophet John in Revelation. The first resurrection and Judgment Day. Daniel apparently could not distinguish between the first and second resurrections discussed in Revelation or the final judgment. Heaven is the reward for those who trust in Christ. The vision is not intended to be understood until "the latter days" have begun. The vision will be understood at a time when science is elevated to an incredible level, most people will have much of the worlds wealth of knowledge and history literally at their fingertips, and many are traveling all over the world. This would appear to anticipate a global community linked together by computers, communication satellites, and air travel.

There can be no question that Daniel Chapter 11 deals with the history of the final age of humanity: from the coming war between Iran and the West, all the way through to the time of the beast, the battle of Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Christ. Chapter 12, which follows immediately afterward, validates this by continuing the narrative and describing the battle of Armageddon, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and then reiterating that what has been witnessed has indeed been "the latter days." Essentially from the time of the reign of the four notable ones until the final decades when "the time of the end" draws near, Daniel tells us very little. He indicates that empires led by dynasties will flourish in these regions over a long period of time, but it is not until they begin a series of ever-worsening conflicts that he takes up the narrative once again.
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Still, as we shall see when analyzing Nostradamus Epistle to Henry II, all of the features discussed in Daniel will appear again and in their appropriate sequence. The latter day prophet of France will prove to be an indispensable wellspring of information when it comes time to fill in the gap left out by Daniel.

An Analysis of the Epistle to Henry II Composed in 1558 as a dedication for his third edition of The Centuries, personally addressed to Henry II of Valois, the then-reigning monarch of France, this missive was intended by Nostradamus to reveal what he had made of the strange future premonitions he had been experiencing in the secrecy of his study since at least 1550. Some of these he had begun publishing in his Almanacs in that same year; however, in the spring of 1554, something encouraged him to assemble the nightly visions into a book of their own, the first edition of The Centuries (also called The True Centuries) first published in 1555. This volume contained Centuries 1 through a part of 4 and was dedicated to his infant son, Cesar. Later that same year, a second edition which included the remainder of Century 4 through Century 7 appeared. In this third edition, which contained the last three Centuries, 8 through 10, the French prophet revealed in sequential order much of a great future age he had collated from the scrambled recollections of his many visions. Thus, we must conclude that until June 1558 Nostradamus had only a general and incomplete conception of the total picture he had been assembling piece by piece over the course of the decade. Many commentators have treated the predictions in this abstract in the same manner as they have the quatrains: as scrambled events not presented in any particular order. As we shall see, nothing could be further from the truth. As to the few authorities who have bothered to deal with this letter in its entirety, none agree as to the point in time from which the main prophetic passages commence. None of the events which make up the bulk of the Epistle resemble anything which has occurred since the time of Nostradamus' death even to this day. A brief chronicle which deviates from the main, however, definitely anticipates the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and what is either a failed postwar prognostication concerning General Charles De Gaulle or a "sneak preview" concerning the reign of the beast of Revelation. The Third World War hero, Chiren, who appears in so many of the verses in The Centuries, does not appear in this chronological prose prophecy; however, World War III is briefly referred to in the past tense. The prophecy also commences with a detailed account of the careers of four powerful leaders who sound strikingly similar to the "four notable ones" who inherit the government of Europe after the passing of "the great horn" in the Book of Daniel. In this section, readers will discover why I believe that Nostradamus was principally preoccupied with events which would occur from the onset of the 21st Century onwards as well as the global war which would usher in the new millennium. They will also be surprised to discover that it was not a third world warbut a fourth and fifthwhich disturbed him most and produced the most terrifying of his visions. Only
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the brutal reign of the dark lord who concludes human history, the Antichrist, also realized by Nostradamus, matches the nightmarish scenarios which are presented here and in The Centuries. Also included in the Epistle: the year when Armageddon will occur, the source of the prophet's inspiration, a plea to the king to allow the actual dates of the quatrains to be published without retaliation from the Inquisition, two biblical genealogies, several cryptic warnings in Latin, and the opening dedication which commences the Epistle. The material in the Epistle is much too complex to be treated in the same fashion as I have the previous narratives. Therefore, I will keep my footnotes in this section to a minimum. Instead, I will insert my comments (some of which may fill several pages) between quoted sections or paragraphs from Nostradamus abstract. Here then, not for the first time, but certainly for one of the few times in the last one hundred years, is the Epistle to Henry II in its entirety, with commentary and analysis by this author included.

Epistle to Henry II To the Most Invincible, Most High, and Most Christian Henry, King of France the Second: Michael Nostradamus, his very humble and most obedient servant and subject, wishes Victory and Happiness. By reason of such extraordinary an observation, 0 most Christian and victorious King, my face, which had been clouded for some time, did present itself before your most divine and immeasurable Majesty. Ever since then have I been perpetually dazzled, never desisting in honoring and venerating that day, in which I presented myself before your most singular and humane Majesty. Now seeking after some occasion whereby I might make manifest a good heart and frank courage and obtain an ample extension of recognition toward your most serene Majesty, and seeing that it was impossible for me to declare myself by effects, and being seized with a singular desire to escape the darkness and obscurity of my mind and to be transported before the enlightening face of the first Monarch of the Universe, it was a great while before I could resolve to whom I should dedicate these, the last three Centuries of my Prophecies, which make up the thousand. After I had long and well considered it, I have with great temerity made my address to your Majesty, being in no way daunted by it, as the most grave author Plutarch related in the Life of Lycurgus, that, seeing the offerings and gifts that were sacrificed in the temples of the immortal gods of their age, many never again presented to the temples, lest the people should wonder at the expense. Not withstanding, seeing your royal splendor joined with an incomparable humanity, I have made my address to it, and not as to the Kings of Persia, of whom it was not permitted to stand before nor approach.

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Nostradamus efforts to flatter the French monarch, Henry II of the House of Valois, were not without motive. Protection from the Inquisition, a continuance of the king's and queen's generous financial patronage, and, as we shall see later, a strong desire to gain Henry's permission to restore the original dates of fulfillment to each of the quatrains without Church sanction may have been but a few reasons for the excessively flowery praise contained in these opening passages. On the other hand, it is also possible that this dedication was not only intended for Henry II of Valois, but for the future "Chyren, King of France the Second," the millennial French leader who Nostradamus predicts will restore the monarchy to France some years after 1999, possibly as early as 2002. Thus, ironically, this letter may be addressed to both Henry II and the current French president, Jacques Chirac, whose "royal visage" and "serene, immeasurable majesty" was doubtlessly scrutinized by the prophet during his numerous nocturnal visions. It is also interesting that Nostradamus stresses that the prophecies to follow in the missive should be read and understood by this "King of France the Second" and not by the "Kings of Persia": a veiled warning to the future monarch that Iran is destined to become France's principal nemesis and that the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism to the Western world will become his chief international priority (Persia was not considered a threat to European security during the reign of Henry II). In fact, not only in the Epistle but in The Centuries as well, the Oracle of Salon expresses both horror and revulsion at the thought of his prophecies falling into the hands of "barbarians," "those of the Moon," and an unspecified Moslem monarch. It should be noted here that the original French text of the Epistle was written as one continuous body and not in paragraph form, therefore the paragraph breaks in this book have been made arbitrarily.

Thus, it is to a most prudent and to a most wise prince that I have consecrated my nocturnal and prophetic calculations, composed more by a natural instinct and poetical furor than by any rules of poesy, and the most part of it composed and in accordance to Astronomical calculation, corresponding with the years, months and weeks, of the regions, countries and most of the towns and cities in the whole of Europe; including those of Africa, and a part of Asia, by the change of regions that come near to those climates, and composed in a natural fashion. Indeed, he who would do well to blow his nose may answer that the rhyme is as easy to be understood, as the common sense is difficult. Therefore, 0 most humane King, most of the prophetic stanzas are so difficult, that there is no way to be found for the interpretation of them. Nevertheless, I aspired to the hope of setting down [in the quatrains] the towns, cities and regions, wherein most of those shall happen, even in the year 1585 and the year 1606, commencing from the present time, which is the 14th of March, 1557.

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One commentator, Edgar Leoni (1961), points to this paragraph as evidence that the prophetic chronicle which soon follows should be understood to commence sometime around the years 1585 and 1606. He seems to have missed the fact that Nostradamus is clearly referring to his "prophetic stanzas"the four-line verses known as "quatrains" which make up The Centuriesand not the prose prophecy in the Epistle. No wonder some commentators have avoided a comprehensive interpretation of the Epistle to Henry II. Small wonder, too, that many others have misunderstood the predictions in the Epistle and have taken the liberty of treating them in the same manner as they have the quatrains: as "scrambled," out-of-sequence, future events.

Going further to the fulfilling of those events, which shall be in the beginning of the seventh millenary, so far as my profound astronomical calculation and other learning could reach, when the adversaries of Jesus Christ and His Church begin to multiply in strength, all has been composed and calculated in days and hours of election, and well disposed, and all as accurately as was possible for me to do. And the whole Minerva libera et non invita, calculating almost as much of the adventures of time that is to come, as to the ages past, comprehending it in the present time, and what by the course of the said time shall be known to happen in all regions punctually as it is here written, adding nothing superfluous, although it be said "Quod de futuris non est determinate omnino veritas." It is very true, Sire, that by my natural instinct given me by my ancestors, I did think I could presage and adjust and agree between this said instinct of mine and a long calculation of art, and by emptying my soul, mind, and heart, of all care, solicitude, and annoyance through repose and tranquillity of spirit. I have foretold most part of these tripode oeneo, though there be many who attribute to me some things that are no more mine than what is nothing at all. Only the eternal God alone, who is the thorough searcher of human hearts, being pious, just, and merciful, is the true Judge; Him I beseech to defend me from the calumny of wicked men, who would as willingly question how all your most ancient progenitors, the Kings of France, have healed the scrofula; and how those of other nations have cured the biting of venomous serpents; others have had a certain instinct of the art of divination, and of others too lengthy to be here recounted.

Minerva (Athena in the Greek pantheon), the goddess of war and wisdom after whom the Greek city of Athens was named by the Greeks, functions as a clue to when the bulk of Nostradamus' oracles will commence their fulfillment. When war is free to reign favorably, that is, when men have become lovers of war, the events that are destined to occur will do so unrestrained. Greece itself, represented by the city of Athena, will help to trigger the first holocaust: World War III. Not so subtly, Nostradamus also places the beginning of his prose prophecy in the early years of the traditional "seventh millenary"after the year 2000. At this point of the dedication, his statement is for the king's benefit only, whom he has still to present his chronology to; for, as we will discover later, Nostradamus calculation of the seventh

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millennium's parameters differs significantly from those which have been traditionally held as correct by the Church. It is difficult to determine his motives, perhaps the prophet felt frustrated at not having already completed his first thousand quatrains by 1555, perhaps it was the result of the prognosticator's version of "writer's block," but it appears that Nostradamus did employ techniques other than direct divine inspiration to arrive at the predictions that appear in the final three Centuries. The tripod of brass and bowl of water he experimented with nearly a decade earlier were pulled out of mothballs; more and more he depended on his "native intuition" (which had proven to be stunningly accurate in many documented cases); and, perhaps, as some detractors have suggested, he may have turned to the dubious prophetic inspiration of the bottle, drinking strong wine and the hallucinogenic liquor absinthe. It is apparent from Nostradamus' writing style, especially in Centuries 8 and 9, that the Seer of Salon did not have as clear an understanding of his visions as he did in Centuries 1 through 7, or, mysteriously again, in Century 10. Whatever he did, he apparently felt God would defend his methods in any case.

Notwithstanding those in whom the malignancy of the wicked spirit shall not be suppressed by length of time, I hope that after my earthly decease my work shall be held in more esteem than when I was alive. However, if I should fail in the calculation of times, or should not please some, may it please your most imperial Majesty to pardon me, protesting before God and His Saints that I do not intend to insert anything in writing in this present Epistle that may be contrary to the true Catholic faith, while consulting the astronomical calculations, according to my learning. For the space of time of our fathers who preceded us are such, submitting myself to the correction by the most learned judgment, that the first man Adam was before Noah, about 1,242 years, not computing the time according to Gentile records, as Varro did, but only according to the Sacred Scriptures, taking them as a guide to my astronomical calculations, and to the best of my understanding. After Noah and the universal flood, about 1,080 years, came Abraham, who was a supreme astrologer, according to most men's opinion, and did first invent the Chaldean letters; after that came Moses, some 515 or 516 years after. And between the time of David and Moses there passed 570 years. After which, between the time of David and that of our Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, there passed 1,350 years.

This is the basis by which Nostradamus establishes the end of the seventh millennium and the second coming of Christ. If one adds the figures provided above they will discover the sum to be either 4757 or 4758. These are the years before Christ. Using the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which preaches that seven millennia will pass between the creation of Adam and the establishment of the Messiah's kingdom on earth rather than the six thousand years upheld by most Christian fundamentalists, one then adds these 7,000 years to BC 4757 or 4758 and arrives at AD 2242 or 2243the end of the
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human age and the beginning of the eighth millennium: the Millennium of Christ. Ergo, in Nostradamian terms, the "seventh millenary" is not AD 2000 - 3000, but AD 1242 - 2242.

Some may object, that this calculation is not true; because it differs from that of Eusebius. And from the time of human redemption, to that of the execrable seduction of the Saracens, have passed 624 years or thereabouts. From that time hitherto, it is easy to gather what times are past. If my computations be not good enough among all nations, however, all has been calculated by the course of the celestial bodies joined with emotion infused in me at certain loose hours, the emotion which has been handed down to me by my ancient progenitors. But the danger at this time, most excellent King, requires that such secret events should not be manifested except by an enigmatical sentence, having but one sense and only one intelligence, without having mixed with it any ambiguous or amphibological calculation. But rather under a cloudy obscurity, through a natural infusion, coming near to the sentence of one of the thousand and two Prophets, that have been since the Creation of the World, according to the calculation and Punic Chronicle of Joel: "Effundum spiritum meum super omnem carnem, et prophetabunt filii vestri, et filae vestrae." But such a prophecy did proceed from the mouth of the Holy Spirit, who was the supreme and eternal power, which being come with that of the celestial bodies, has caused some of them to predict great and wonderful things. For my part I challenge no such thing in this place, God forbid. I confess truly, that all comes from God, for which I gave Him thanks, honour, and praise, without having mixed any of that divination which proceeds a fato but a Deo, a natura. And most of it is joined with the motion of and course of the celestial bodies, much as if seeing in a lens, and through a cloudy vision, the great and sad events, the prodigious and the calamitous accidents that shall befall the worshippers. First upon the temples of God, and secondly upon those who draw their support from earth, this draws near, with a thousand other calamitous accidents, which shall be known in the due course of time.

Nostradamus includes himself as the 1,003rd member of a "prophetic elite": prophets inspired by God since the dawn of time. He makes it abundantly clear that divine inspiration is the source of the prophecies which are to commence in the next paragraph, admitting that a good portion of these "calamitous accidents" also appear in the quatrains in a more enigmatic and metaphorical form. He also credits natural astrology (the forerunner of modern astronomy) as one of his methods for determining the timing of the events he has been revealed.

For God will long regard the barrenness of the great lady, who soon afterwards shall conceive two principal children. But, being in peril, she will to him give
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birth with risk of death at the term of her eighteenth year, and not able to conceive beyond the age of thirty-six, shall leave behind her three males and one female, and of these two will not ever have had any of the same father. The differences between the three brothers shall be such, though united and agreed, that the three and four parts of Europe will tremble. By the lesser in years shall the Christian monarchy be upheld and augmented; sects shall rise and presently be put down again; the Arabians shall be put back; kingdoms shall be united and new laws made. Concerning the other children, the first [eldest] shall possess the furious crowned Lions, holding their paws upon the escutcheons [shields]. The second, well attended by the Latins, will go so deep among the Lions, that a second trembling and furious descent will be made, to get upon the Pyrenees Mountains. The ancient monarchy shall not be transferred, and the third inundation of human blood shall happen; also for a good while Mars shall not be in Lent.

As I discussed before earlier, a great queen will rule for many years and produce four offspring: three sons and a daughter. After her death the three sons will come into positions of power, dividing much of Europe up between them. The daughter will produce two children by two different men, or else she will divorce and remarry, providing the children with a stepfather in addition to their natural father. According to the prediction, the eldest brother will inherit the throne of Great Britain: "the furious crowned Lions, holding their paws upon the escutcheons." In heraldry, crowned lions are only to be found in this way in the British, English, and Scottish coats-of-arms. There is no other way to interpret this sentence, which more than likely makes the queen of this passage English rather than some other nationality. Unless the British monarchy fails and Great Britain falls under the leadership of a foreign government, the eldest son cannot be anyone other than the British Crown Prince. The youngest brother will attain the rule of the Christian empire Nostradamus names Annemarc in The Centuries; the holy European empire which will be established by Chiren, the French liberator after the end of World War III (as discussed in Quatrains 2.79, 4.34, 6.27, 5.6, 6.70, and 4.77). This war is not discussed in the Epistle, but is alluded to, as we will discover, as having already occurred in the past tense. Chiren too, appears to be absent, but his presence may be shared by the reader: the enigmatic "King of France the Second." This youngest brother will crush Arab armies still clinging to the Empire's frontiers and force them back into the Middle East and North Africa.
Nearly all quatrains that are mentioned throughout this chapter appear in full in the large chronological section that completes this book. However, the reader is advised to have a standard copy of Nostradamus Centuries (such as Erika Cheethams very popular The Prophecies of Nostradamus or The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus) handy. This book is not intended to be used as a complete guide to all of Nostradamus prophecies (that is, all of the histori cal ones and all those that defy interpretation).

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Later, the second brother will be given control over Italy, and then will go to war with his own native country represented again by the Lions (England) which will have reluctantly allied with France, Spain, Portugal, and the Arabs of North Africa against him. The cause of this confrontational rift within the Empire, according to several key quatrains, will be a French Civil War that manages to spread beyond its borders, pitting the brothers against one another. Afterward, he will lose a decisive battle near the Pyrenees Mountains, unable to transfer "the ancient monarchy"which could either refer to the British monarchy or the new Holy Empire founded in the spirit of Charlemagne's empireinto Spain. These three brothers and sister, I believe, are Nostradamus' analogue to the "four notable ones" who appear in the Book of Daniel. The three brothers here are also the enigmatic "three brothers" who keep popping up in The Centuries and are most definitely not the Kennedys as nearly all commentators insist. They are, in fact, to be the successors of the first king of a United Europecalled "the great horn" by Daniel and "Chiren" by Nostradamus-who will rule "the four parts of Europe" after his death. The four will either be his blood-heirs or else successors he will appoint before his death to whom he is not related. The four will share power with the youngest brother acting as titular head or imperator. Daniel states that these four notables will have "stood up for," that is supported, the first leader during his war with Persia (Iran) and its various allies; therefore, they are his contemporaries. Since a third World War is likely to begin sometime during the 1999-2006 period, these royal siblings must already be known to the world. One can only conclude that the "great lady" of the first prophetic paragraph is Queen Elizabeth II. She does indeed have four children: three sons and a daughterCharles, Andrew, Edward, and Annejust as the passage specifies. Without a doubt, the eldest son, Charles, is heir apparent to the "furious crowned Lions." Queen Elizabeth was 21 when Charles was born in 1948not far from the "term of the eighteenth year" predicted by Nostradamus, although not in any danger of death. The youngest child, Edward, was born in 1964 when the Queen was 38again, quite close to the age of 36 specified by the French seer as the time when she would no longer be able to continue to bear any more children. Indeed, this is currently the only royal family in the world which conforms so closely to Nostradamus specifications. According to the prophecy the youngest son will attain the Imperial Throne after the death of the future emperor Chiren (anagram of Chirac?). In The Centuries, Nostradamus names this youngest son Ogmios (also Jeune Ognion), a Celtic god who was considered the equivalent of Hercules. He was honored by the Irish as the god Oghma, and among Brythonic Celts he was called Ogmius or Ogmios. Being compared to a Celtic godgiven that the Celts were spread throughout Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, France, and Belgium-does not make identification of this individual's nationality an easy task. However, given the evidence in the Epistle discussed above, it is possible that it was the ancient Briton which Nostradamus had in mind. Therefore, it is possible that one day Prince Edward will fulfill the prophecy concerning this strange god. If not, it will be by Chiren's youngest son and a future French royal house.

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If the British scenario rather than the French one is correct, then Andrew, Duke of York, will be the second son mentioned who is apparently to be given Italy ("the Latins") as a principality. This second son may be the one Nostradamus calls Hadrie: a name he derived from "Adriatic" in The Centuries. Italy will become great under this brother, while strong Arab influence will take hold in a debauched France (Quatrain 3.27). Greece will be captured by the Turks and later Spain will be conquered by the Libyans and the French. Great Britain and Portugal will be compelled to forge a reluctant alliance with France, Spain, and the Arabs who will later declare war on Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. The defense and destiny of the Empire will thus be left to "Hadrie and the heirs of Romulus" (Quatrain 1.9). It is not entirely clear where Edward, if he is the youngest prince described, will govern from at this time. It appears that he will be forced to flee France and set up a temporary seat in Geneva, Switzerland. We are told in Quatrain 8.34 that Switzerland and Germany will be threatened by a seven million-man army from Africa. Nevertheless, Hadrie and Ogmios regain control of Great Britain after the-cryptic "victory of the Lion over the Lion." This may portend an artillery duel between Andrew and Charles. In any event, the insistent prognostic is repetitive concerning the theme of a member of the British royal line going to war against his own wayward country. Afterward, Hadrie and his Latin forces, along with Ogmios and his Swiss-German forces, as well as the reacquired British army, fight the French, driving them, the Spanish, and the Arabs south to the Pyrenees Mountains where, tragically, Hadrie is defeated. The "ancient monarchy," is not transferred into Spain, and Hadrie and Ogmios are driven out by the Arabs (Quatrain 4.94).

The daughter shall be given for the preservation of the Church, the dominate part of it falling into the Pagan sect of the new unbelievers, and she will have two children, one from faithfulness, and the other from unfaithfulness, by the confirmation of the Catholic Church. The son, who to his confusion and late repentance, shall go about to ruin her, shall have three regions over a wide extent of leagues, that is to say, the Roman, the German, and the Spanish, and it will take a military hand to adequately take care of the area stretching from the 50th to the 52nd degree of latitude.. And all those remote regions north above the 48th degree, who by vain fright shall quake, and then those of the west, south, and east shall tremble because of their power, and the power of that what shall be done cannot be undone by the power of war. They shall be equal in nature, but much different in faith.

Again, if it is the current Windsor-Mountbatten line which is being discussed, Princess Anne will play a leading role in the new Anglican Church which, according to Quatrain 2.8, will one day be reunited with the Catholic Church (a goal of the present Pope John Paul II). This may take place during the reigns of Emperor Chiren and the pope "from ancient France." Apparently, after the four royals come to power, much of the Church will come under the control of what can only be construed as
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New Age religious influence ("the Pagan sect of the new unbelievers"). Irregardless of my own personal feelings concerning the New Age, Nostradamus, whose heritage was Judaic and convictions Christian, does not seem to hold a very positive opinion of this new, exotic religious influence since he labels its adherents as "unbelievers." According to the Epistle, the "daughter" will have two children, one of whom Nostradamus implies may be an adulterine ("the daughter will have two children who never had any of the same father," "she will have two children, one from faithfulness, and the other from unfaithfulness"). Regarding a potential Windsor connection, Princess Anne's affair with current husband Timothy Laurence while still married to Captain Mark Philips was well-known gossip in the British and American press in the late 1980s and early 1990s prior to her divorce and remarriage. Whether it is she or a member of another royal house Nostradamus had in mind, he envisions the elder child of the "daughter" as one day attaining dominion over part of Italy (or the Latin islands), most of Germany, and Spain (which he will lose to the Libyans). He will also be forced to use military power to crush resistance in Thuringia, Hess, Westphalia, most of Brandenburg, and the upper Hineland. Because his mother will commit herself to affairs of Church and the welfare of her country's subjects, this son will assume her role as the fourth "notable one." The royal nephew's poweralong with that of his three uncles'will be such that Artois and Le Nord in northern France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark will form an alliance out of mutual fear. This Northern alliance, in turn, will trouble the remainder of France, Portugal, Spain, and Great Britain. Eastern Europe and the Balkans will also form a coalition out of awe and distrust, as will the Arab-African South.

After this the barren lady, of a loftier power than the second, shall be admitted by two people, by the first made obstinate by he who had power over the others, and then by another, that shall extend his circuit to the east of Europe; there his forces will stop and be overcome, but by sea he will make excursions into Trinacria [Sicily] and the Adriatic against the Myrmidons [Greeks]. Germany shall fall, and the Barbarian Sect shall be wholly driven from among the Latins.

The opening section of this paragraph is more difficult to grasp than the previous ones. If the first lady is Queen Elizabeth II, then the second must follow the feminine side of Queen Elizabeth's bloodline. Since the previous paragraph appears to deal with Princess Anne and her children, it is possibly she who is meant by "the second." The third lady must then be yet another generation removed, and perhaps therefore is Anne's younger child, daughter Zara (Nostradamus actually uses her name in The Centuries (8.83). It appears that in her middle adult years she will be given refuge by two European rulers when the Empire has been plunged into war by her three royal uncles as well as her older brother. The identity of the first who will hold resentment for the emperor Ogmios ("he who had power over the others") bears an uncanny resemblance to a Belgian leader, Philip (Prince Phillippe), who appears in The Centuries. The other
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monarch, unnamed here but called Ferdinand in the quatrains, will control part of Eastern Europe, but will suffer heavy losses in that region in an attempt to vanquish the Greek Aemathien. However, he will eventually aid in the conquest of both Greece and Albania. The prophecy goes on to say that he will drive all Islamic forces out of Sicily (as echoed in Quatrain 5.13) while Philip captures Germany and rids Italy of Islamic "barbarian" forces. It appears from the above paragraph that Zara and Ferdinand will marry, and Quatrain 8.83 heavily suggests that he will make her queen over Yugoslavia.

Then the great Empire of Antichrist shall descend from the Attila, and Xerxes come down with an innumerable number of people, so that the coming of the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the 48th degree, shall transmigrate, driving away the abomination of the Antichrist who made war against the royal person of the great vicar of Jesus Christ [the Pope] and against His Church, and His Kingdom, and reign par tempus, et in occasione temporis. And before this shall proceed a solar eclipse, the most dark and obscure that was since the creation of the world, till the death and passion of Jesus Christ, and from him until now. There shall be in the month of October, a great revolution made, such that everyone will think that the earth has lost its natural motion and has gone down into perpetual darkness. In the spring before and after this, shall happen extraordinary changes, reversals of kingdoms, and great earthquakes, all this accompanied with the procreation of the New Babylon, a miserable prostitute large with the abomination of the First Holocaust [World War III]. And this shall last only 73 years and 7 months.

We now depart from the reign of "the four notable ones" to the time when the empire "shall be plucked up by others besides those." This is Daniels final word on the matter until we reach the era of wars between "the king of the north" and "the king of the south." But Nostradamus has much to say about this expansive, intervening period. After the conflicts in Europe an empire hostile to Christianity will mobilize for war in the lands of Attila the Hun, that is, northern Russia, Siberia, and Central Asia, and also in the country of Xerxes (Iran). An abnormally protracted and dreadful solar eclipse will then occur. Afterwards, the Turko-Tartar and Iranian horde will descend upon Europe from the North, slaughtering many of the Christian faith. Sometime later, in the month of October, a major shift in the earth's axis will plunge the world into perpetual darkness attended by an unfortunate concomitance of earthquakes, tsunamis, electrical storms, magnetic pole reversals, celestial aberrations, and the like. Ultimately, a military offensive by the Christian West issuing from along the 48th degree in northern France, lower Germany, Austria, and Hungary will drive out the foreign armies. The time will be sufficiently horrid enough for God's spiritual presence to come to the aid of Western forces ("the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the 48th degree").
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However, this should not be confused with the actual second coming of Jesus Christ, but should be considered as a sort of spiritual "dress rehearsal."
The topic of "the transmigration of the Holy Spirit" and all that is related to this theme, including the parents of this reincarnated Messiah, briefly mentioned here by Nostradamus, is worthy of a book in and of itself. I will disclose this information sometime in the future.

Interestingly enough, Max Toth (1979), one of the more famous of the Pyramid of Cheops scholars, calculated that the image of Christ will be seen emblazoned across the sky in the year 2034 followed by some sort of divine intervention at a time of great upheaval in 2040 AD. However, he is somewhat at variance with a dating provided by Nostradamus in Quatrain 2.65, calculated by astrologer Christian Wollner (1926), wherein global war with the third antichrist "from the Attila" reaches its most catastrophic point on December 7, 2044. This, along with other reasons I will explicate in Chapter 4, would indicate the end of the war will not take place until the late 2040s or early 2050s (the year, in fact, is 2052 AD). One of the legacies of the war will be the creation of a "new Babylon": a nation or group of Arab nations which will have grown powerful and rich from the previous global war ("the First Holocaust," i.e., World War III). It cannot refer to central Iraqthe former Babylon-since that nation will have been utterly destroyed by 2005 or 2006. Perhaps the territory in question is to be found in Syria, Jordan, and Kurdistan. The Prophet of Provence gives this new entity a total life span of only 73 years and 7 months.

Then from that stock that has been so long time barren, proceeding from the 50th degree, one will issue who will renovate all the Christian Church. Then shall be a great peace, union and concord, between some of the children of races long wandering and separated by diverse kingdoms; and such peace shall be made that the instigator and promoter of military function by diversity of religions, shall be tied to the bottom of the deep, and united to the kingdom of the furious who shall counterfeit the wise. The countries, towns, cities and provinces that had deserted their first ways to free themselves, captivating themselves more deeply, shall be secretly angry at their liberty and religion lost, and shall begin to strike from the left, to return once more to the right.

One whom Nostradamus calls "Philip," "the Belgian Prince," "the Belgian Gaul," and "the Gallic Hercules from the Celtic right" in The Centuriesin other words, a leader from Belgiumwill issue forth from the 50th degree of latitude. At this time France and Belgium will become one nation, one Gaul, again. He will usher in a great era of peace and prosperity, reuniting the nations of Europe and restoring the Church, much after the manner of the first emperor, Chiren. Quatrain 10.89 indicates that the golden age of this new Pax Europa will endure for 57 years. The reference to the "stock that

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has been long barren" indicates that this imperator will trace his ancestry back to the ancient line of French kings. The long-wandering and separated races are the lost tribes of Israel which will reunite to form a super-federation. According to Stewart Robb (1991), who has made an exhaustive study of this prediction from both a Biblical and Nostradamian perspective, these lost tribes are Great Britain (Ephraim) and the United States (Manasseh). It is difficult for me to interpret much else from the above paragraph.

Then restoring the holiness, so long beaten down with their former writings, afterwards will come the great dog, the largest of mastiffs, who shall destroy all that was done before. Churches shall be again as before, the clergy will be restored to its former state, until it falls back again into whoredom and luxury, committing a thousand crimes. And being near to another desolation, when she shall be in her higher and more sublime dignity, there shall rise powers and military hands, who shall take away from her the two swords, and leave only the resemblance, after which, tired of the crookedness that is about them, the people will cause these things to straighten. Not willing to submit unto them by the end opposite to the sharp hand that touches the ground they shall provoke.

A period of religious conflicts at some point follows the "golden age," reminiscent of the struggles between French Catholics and Huguenots during the late 16th Century. The radical Protestantism in conflict with the Church in this case will probably be the heirs of Lutheranism: the Evangelical, Baptist, and Methodist faiths. The more classical Protestant faiths, such as the Episcopalian and Anglican, will have merged with Roman Catholicism during the reign of Chiren. Later the Church will fall into moral corruption and apostasy.

To the branch long barren, will proceed one who shall deliver the people of the world from that meek and voluntary slavery; putting themselves under the protection of Mars, restoring to Jupiter all his honors and dignities, for the free city established and seated in another little Mesopotamia [Babylon]. And the chief governor shall be thrust out of the middle, and set in a high place of the air, being ignorant of the conspiracy of the conspirators, with the second Thrasybulus, who long before did prepare this thing. Then shall the impurities and abominations be objected to with great shame, and made manifest to the darkness of the veiled light, and shall cease toward the end of the change of his kingdom, and the chief men of the Church shall be put back from the love of God and many of them shall apostatize from the true faith.

A new age commences under the leadership of one of Philip's descendants. It appears that this new emperor will be a pagan and will resurrect the worship of the Roman
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pantheon or some form of planet-based idol worship. Again we have the formation of another Babylon which will replace the New Babylon of three paragraphs ago which lasted only 73 years and 7 months. Thrasybulus was a Greek tyrant whose power reached its peak around 620 BC. Apparently a Greek governor will be instrumental in a conspiracy which will help place the new emperor on the imperial throne. According to the French psychic, an era of debauchery will ensue, with many ecclesiastics resigning from the Catholic Church.

Of the three faiths [Pagan, Catholic, and Mohammedan], that which is middlemost, by the actions of its worshippers, shall be thrown into ruins. The first will be abandoned throughout the whole of Europe, and the most part of Africa will be undone by the third, by means of the poor of spirit, who by madness elevated shall, through libidinous luxury, commit adultery. The people will rise and maintain it, and shall drive away those that did adhere to the legislators, and it shall seem, from the kingdoms spoiled by the Oriental men, that God the Creator has loosed Satan from his infernal prison, to cause to be born the great Dog and Dohan [Gog and Magog] who shall make so great and abominable a breach in the Churches, that neither the reds nor the whites, who are without eyes and without arms, shall not judge of it, and their power shall be taken away from them.

The short-lived Pagan Age comes to a close. The Catholic Church falls into a state of near-total collapse. Islam will once again spread throughout the majority of the African continent. Europe returns to her Protestant leaning, although the Empire technically remains dominated by a Catholic wraith. The age of the "great Dog and Dohan" commences, with the Dog coming out of the lands of the Orient. In Nostradamian Charles A. Wards text of the Epistle, the Dog and Dohan is equatedas it is herewith "Gog and Magog" parenthetically. Much of the evidence in the Epistle and The Centurieswhen compared with the Book of Ezekielseems to support this theory. "Gog, the land of Magog is seen to come from both out of the North ("the northern parts") and the East (as the prince over "those of Togarmah," now modern-day Turkmenistan). This, without a doubt, is Nostradamus, l'Oriental or "the Man from the East" who appears in several quatrains, most notably 2.29 and 5.54. He will come from "great Tartary," a vast area of Asia which includes former Soviet Central Asia (Turkestan), Mongolia, Xinjiang, and northern China (perhaps the mysterious Magog lies in Mongolia or Xinjiang province: home of Ghengis Khan). The "Churches" reaffirms the new spiritual dominance of the Evangelical faiths and thus represents the West in general. The "reds" and "whites" who lose power in Europe are probably two future political parties, thus representing the Empire itself retreating before the seductive power of this new Tartar or Chinese menace.

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Then shall be a greater persecution against the ecclesiastics than ever was, and in the meantime shall be so great a plague, that two parts of three in the world shall fail, so much so that no one shall be able to know the true owners of fields and houses, and weeds growing in the streets of the cities will rise higher than the knees. There shall happen a total desolation to the clergy, and martial men shall usurp what shall come from the City of the Sun [Rome], and from Malta, and from the Islands of Hyeres, and the great chain of the port shall be open which takes its name from a sea ox.

A great plague accompanies an era of invasions and persecutions of Christians by the Dog and Dohan. Regarding Nostradamus prediction, there is no corroborative prophetic evidence involving a plague of comparable magnitude (two-thirds of humanity) to be found anywhere in the Bible. The closest we come to this figure is a death toll of "a third of mankind" which, according to the Book of Revelation, will be incurred by an Oriental army of 200,000,000. If Nostradamus is to be believed, two thirds of humanity will succumb to a nightmarish pandemic. In all likelihood, the prophet had the population of Europe in mind rather than that of the entire planet. During this period of monumental catastrophe, Rome, Malta, and Provence will be seized. The Dog (Gog) becomes the "prince of Meshech and Tubal," (Ezekiel 38:2) by invading Turkey via Armenia after passing through Central Asia and the Caucasus, opening the way for Asian war vessels to pass through the Bosporus Strait (Greek: "ox ford") and the Dardanelles. This is consistent with Quatrain 5.54:

5.54 From the Black Sea and great Tartary, A king will come to see France, He will pass through Alania and Armenia, And in Byzantium shall leave his bloody scepter.

***

A new incursion shall be made from the sea coasts, willing to deliver Saultus Castulonensis [Sierra Morena] from the first Moslem taking, and the assault shall not be altogether in vain, and that place where the habitation of Abraham was, shall be assaulted by those who shall have reverence for the Jovials [pagans]. The great Eastern city of Shechem shall be encompassed and assaulted on all sides by a great power of armed men. Their sea forces shall be weakened by the Western men, and to that kingdom shall happen great desolation, and the great cities shall be depopulated, and those that shall come in shall be comprehended within the vengeance of the wrath of God.

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The Holy Sepulchre, held in great veneration for so long a time, shall remain a great while open to the universal aspect of the heavens, sun and moon. The sacred place shall be converted into a stable for cattle small and large, and put to profane uses. 0 what a calamitous time shall be then for women with child! For then the principal Eastern Ruler, being for the most part moved by the Northern and Western men, shall be vanquished and put to death, beaten, and all the rest put to flight, and the children he had by many women put in prison. Then shall be fulfilled the prophecy of the Royal Prophet. "Ut audiret gemitus compeditorum, et solveret filios interemptorum."

Stewart Robb interprets the "maritime shores" (or "sea coasts") as representing Great Britain and America. If this true, they will succeed in liberating southern Spain from Arab domination. It is interesting to note that Gog's ambitions in southern Spain via the Arabs are also mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13:

The merchants of Tarshish [southern Spain], with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee [Gog], Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey?

Acre, the Israeli port city, once "the habitation of Abraham," will be liberated by Northern pagan forces who Nostradamus says will "have reverence" for those who worship Jupiter. It would appear then, at this point in time, that Russia will adopt the pagan worship practiced earlier in Europe and will begin to turn away from Christianity. Jordan, represented by the ancient city of Shechem, located thirty miles south of the mountain of Megiddo, now modern-day Nabulus, will be invaded by Gog's forces. After a terrible naval battle between Christian and Moslem forces in the Mediterranean, much of Magog (Tartary? China?) will be destroyed, along with many major cities throughout the world. Both Nostradamus and the biblical prophet Ezekiel suggest that the fiery destruction of Magog will be carried out by God Himself. Afterwards, perhaps out of confusion, numerous cities will be targeted by governments possessing nuclear weapons. In Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre will be leveled, leaving Cavalry and the church ruins exposed to the elements. Bethlehem will be subjected to all manner of sacrilege. However, in the end, Gog and all his offspring are defeated and destroyed by Anglo-America, Western Europe, and Russia. "Ut audiret gemitus compeditorum, et solveret filios interemptorum" means "Let the sighing of the prisoners come before him, that he might release the children of death."

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What oppression shall be made then upon the princes and governors of kingdoms, and especially on those that shall live eastward and near the sea, their languages intermixed with all nations. The language of the Latin nations mixed with Arabic and North African communication. All the Oriental kings shall be driven away, beaten and brought to nothing, not altogether by means of the kings of Aquilon, and the drawing near of our age, but by means of three secretly united, seeking death by ambushing one another. The renewing of the triumvirate shall last seven years, while the fame of such a sect shall be spread all the world over, and the sacrifice of the holy and immaculate host shall be upheld. And then shall the lords be two in number, victorious in the North against the Orientals, and there shall be such a great noise and warlike tumult that all the Orient shall quake for fear of those two brothers of the North who are not yet brothers.

In this far-reaching prophecy Nostradamus describes the nations of Mediterranean Europe merging their language and customs with the countries of North Africa and the Arab Middle East. The Gallic emperor will have formed a secret triumvirate with two other European kings during the outbreak of Gog's war. The three, united by a new sect of Christianity, will proclaim their alliance to the world, renewing it for another seven-year term. This new Christian faith will spread throughout the Western world. However, all the while, the three will be plotting against one another for superiority. With the destruction of Gog, another powerful union will be forged between two Northern leaders: one who will rule a North European federation consisting of the Low Countries, Iceland, Scandinavia, and Germany; and the other who will head a Russian empire which will include Finland, the Baltics, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, some of the former Soviet republics, and possibly even Alaska. This is the origin of Daniels "king of the north." In any event, this Russo-Germanic duumvirate, after an Eastern violation of a brief, seven-month cease-fire, will press further eastward, annihilating all of China's Far Eastern allies. The Pacific will boil with blood, and the war begun by Gog (World War V) will finally come to a close. Thus ends the first part of Nostradamus' chronology of future events: commencing with the passing of Chiren's empire to the four notable ones, and interrupted here with the genesis of the Lords of Aquilon and their victory over the Dog and Dohan.

And because, Sire, by this discourse, I put all things confusedly in my predictions [the quatrains] and the time concerning the event of them; for the chronology of time which follows, very little is conformable, if at all, to what I have just set forth, being by astronomical rule and according to the Sacred Scriptures, in which I cannot err. I could have set down in every quatrain the exact time in which they shall occur, but it would not please everybody, and much less the
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interpretation of them, till, Sire, your Majesty has granted me full power so to do, that my calumniators may be unable to do me harm.

Nostradamus states the obvious concerning his quatrains: that, unlike these predictions in the Epistle, they are not presented in chronological sequence. He also tells the king that the next set of events he will soon relate shall not conform to the prose prophecy above. This is a critical point. The next series of events commence around the year 1792. For commentator Edgar Leoni (1961) the predictions which follow shortly are a continuation of the above chronological abstract. They are not. Rather, it is at this point that Nostradamus breaks from his sequential story-telling concerning 21stcentury events and beyond to once again discuss biblical history and, perhaps as an afterthought, to reveal events destined to occur between 1792 and the mid-20th Century. Afterwards he introduces the king to the beast of Revelation in a brief preview of events he more thoroughly explicates at the end of the Epistle. This misunderstanding is the linchpin to Leoni's assertion that every bit of prophecy up to this point is drastically in error, and thus irrelevant, because he demands that the reader comprehend all of it in a historical context. Leoni perceives the entire prophetic work as a continuous thread commencing around 1565 or 1610 and continuing on until the year 2000, which would make nonsense out of virtually all of it. It is Nostradamus resumption of the chronicle relating to the Lords of Aquilon and then progressing further ahead into time which disproves this view, verifying that what is to be covered during this intermission "very little is conformable, if at all, to what [was] just set forth." It is also important to note that at the end of the paragraph above, Nostradamus beseeches the king to grant him power to publish the dates of fulfillment connected with each of the quatrains. Apparently he desired to republish Centuries 1 through 7 in this fashion, as well as those appearing in the new edition dedicated to Henry II. Unfortunately, this request was never granted by the soon-to-die monarch.

Nevertheless, reckoning the years since the creation of the world to the birth of Noah, there passed 1,506 years, and from the birth of Noah to the building of the ark at the time of the universal flood, 600 years passed; whether solar years, or lunar, or mixed; for my part according to the Scriptures, I hold that they were solar. And at the end of these 600 years Noah entered into the ark to save himself from the flood, which flood was universal upon the earth and lasted a year and two months; and from the end of the flood to the birth of Abraham did pass 295 years; and from the birth of Abraham to that of Isaac did pass 100 years; from Isaac to Jacob, 60 years; and from the time he went into Egypt until he came out of it, did pass 130 years; and from the time that Jacob went into Egypt until his posterity came out of it did pass 430 years; and from the coming out of Egypt to the building of Solomon's Temple in the fortieth year of his reign did pass 480 years; and from the building of the Temple to Jesus Christ, according to the
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computation of the chronographers, did pass 490 years. And thus by this calculation, which I have gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, the whole comes to about 4,173 and eight months more or less. But since the time of Jesus Christ hitherto, I leave it because of the diversity of opinion.

Here is one of the few bones detractors of Nostradamus have had a right to chew. Prior to the beginning of the prophetic abstract, the Prophet of Provence offered a genealogy which concluded that Adam was created in 4758 BC. In this paragraph he arrives at the calculation of 4173 BC, which, if we add the numbers up for ourselves, is at odds with the true sum of 4,092. Why would Nostradamus present such an obviously badly flawed revision of the first genealogy to Henry of Valois at this point in his Epistle? Nothing could have been more heretical to the Inquisitionsuch as it was in France in the 16th Century (much worse to the south, in Spain)than to proclaim one knew the most sacred of all dates: the year of the Second Coming. Did not the Bible preach that no man would know the day of Christ's return? Despite this, most Catholic authorities held that Armageddon and the Second Coming would occur at the conclusion of the current millennium: the year 2000. It would be considered heresy to either claim knowledge of the year or to dispute the traditional view held by the Church. Saint Malachy is only one of the so-called "Church prophets" to have supported the simplistic millennial view by having it "revealed" to him in a vision during the 12th Century that the last Catholic pope, Petrus Romanus, would feed his frightened flock before his death at the hands of the beast around the year 2000. Contrary to the opinions of many commentators, predictions by Nostradamus concerning the future of the papacy are completely at odds with those of Malachy. In 1790, another Catholic prophet, an obscure Polish monk who desired anonymity, was credited with predicting the destruction of southern Europe during a universal earthquake in 1996 and the Second Coming in the year 2000. After the end of the world failed to materialize in the year 1000 AD, the Catholic clergy instructed the largely uneducated masses that mankind had been given another thousand years of grace. Subsequently, all prophets (particularly Catholic prophets) who concurred with this view were proclaimed to be divinely inspired. This, of course, includes the three children who witnessed oracles uttered by the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Nostradamus avoids giving the year of Armageddon by instead providing the reader with the year human history begins. However, in his Preface to Cesar, he concurs with the ancient prophet Enoch, telling us that human history will conclude at the end of the "seventh millenary." Thus, he encourages the reader to add the figure 7,000 to the year he calculates as Man's beginning. According to the genealogy which appeared earlier in the Epistle (the correct one), one can gather that the seventh millennium will occur between AD 1242 and 2242. What occurs in the above paragraph is a deliberate blind. His contention that humanitys calendar begins in 4173 BC ("more or less") is so bombastic that church
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authorities could not have avoided noticing the discrepancy from his earlier calculation of 4758 BC. Also, adding the figures in the second genealogy, one arrives at 4092 BC rather than the stated 4173 BC. Discerning readers must have thought he was a mathematical idiot or else very confused, in either case harmless to Church doctrine. Thus, by waffling so badly on this issue, he managed to contrive a safety net for himself against the designs of the Inquisition. This confusion of dates also serves as a worthy puzzle for the person he believed would correctly present his prophecies for the "latter age" at the time of its arrival. Therefore, in my estimation, unless Nostradamus envisioned alternative futures ending in either the year 2827 or 2908, I believe the year 2242 AD to be firmly established as the time he believed Armageddon would occur. There is a large body of corroborative and astrological evidence which supports my theory. For more information, consult Chapter 4.

Having calculated these present prophecies in accordance to the order of the chain which contains the revolution, and all by astronomic rule, and according to my natural instinct; after some time, and including in it the time Saturn takes to turn to come in from April 7 until August 25; Jupiter from June 14 to October 7; Mars from April 27 till June 22; Venus from April 9 to May 22; Mercury from February 3 to February 24; afterwards from June 1 to June 24; and from September 25 to October 16, Saturn in Capricorn, Jupiter in Aquarius, the Dragon's head in Libra, the tail opposite to her sign. Following a conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury, with a quadrin aspect of Mars to Mercury, and the head of the Dragon shall be with a conjunction of Sol and Jupiter; the year shall be peaceful without eclipse.

It is believed that the above astrological configuration represents the year 1789the year the French Revolution began. However, I can neither confirm this nor offer an alternative interpretation.

But not universally. For it will mark the commencement of what will long endure. For beginning with that year we shall see a greater persecution against the Christian Church than ever was in Africa, and it shall be in the year 1792 at which people will think it to be a renovation of time.

1792 was designated as year one of the Republic and a new calendar was created. As to the persecution of Christians during the French Revolution, the examples are numerous. The Catholic clergy was dissolved, monasteries and churches were despoiled, the worship of God was abolished and a humanistic cult was put in place of Christianity, and all manner of atrocities, rapes, and murders were committed against innocents suspected of being enemies of the Republic, including nuns and clergymen.
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For a more thorough analysis and historical corroboration of the above paragraph, consult Chapter 4.

After that the Roman people shall begin to stand upright again, and to put away the obscure darkness, receiving some of the former light, but now without great divisions and continual changes. Venice, after that with great strength and power will lift up her wings so high that she will think herself to be not much inferior to the strength of ancient Rome.* And at that time great Byzantine sails,** joined with the Italians by the help and power of the North, shall hinder them so that those of Crete shall not keep their faith. In the Adriatic there shall be a great discord, what was united shall be put asunder, and what was before a great city shall become a house, including the Pompotam and Mesopotamia of Europe, in 45, and others to 41, 42, and 47.

* Mussolini's Fascist Italy. ** Bulgaria and Romania. Germany, in this instance. Greek Campaign, 1940 - 1941, Yugoslavian Campaign, 1941. Paris. Great Britain. France. 37 in some editions.

And in that time and those countries the infernal power shall rise against the Church of Jesus Christ. This shall be the second Antichrist, which shall persecute the said church by means of force. The true vicar* and the temporal kings,** through their ignorance, shall be seduced by a tongue more sharp than any sword in the hands of a madman. The said reign of Antichrist shall not last but till the ending of him who was born near the beginning of that age, and the other in the city of Plancus accompanied by the elected one of Modena, Fulcy by Ferrara, maintained by the Adriatic, Ligurians, and the proximity of the great Trinacria.

* Popes Pius XI and XII. ** Victor Emmanuel III, Paul von Hindenburg, Marshall Petain, Neville Chamberlain, etc. Adolf Hitler. Hitler again, born in 1889, near the onset of the 20th Century. Nazi collaborator Pierre Laval, executed in Lyon in 1945. Benito Mussolini, elected April 6, 1924. Sicily.

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The two paragraphs above are stunning examples of the prophet's clarity and accuracy in forecasting the events surrounding Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Vichy France, and World War II. Even the dates are eerily precise. Even more than the notorious "Hister quatrains," these passages compel the serious interpreter of Nostradamus predictions to believe that the prophet actually foresaw the advent of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and considered both men, as well as their confederates, as elements of the second antichrist to confront humanity. Again, as with the passage concerning the French Revolution, the above two paragraphs will be analyzed and discussed in greater detail in Chapter 4.

Afterwards the Gallic Ogmios* shall pass Mount Jovis,** followed with such a number that even far off the Empire shall present its grand law, and then and for some time after shall be profusely spilled the blood of the Innocents by the guilty raised and exalted. Then by great floods the memory of those things contained in such instruments shall receive incalculable loss, even to the letters themselves. This will happen to those of the North by the will of God. By the Divine Will Satan will be bound once more, and universal peace shall be among men, and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ shall be free from all tribulation, although the Azostains would desire to mix with the honey their pestilent seduction. This shall happen after the seventh millenary, when the sanctuary of Jesus Christ shall no more be trodden by the unbelievers from the North. Afterward, the world will approach its great conflagration, although by the calculations of my prophecies, the course of time goes much further than that.

* French Hercules. ** Barcelona. In Tartarus for a thousand years. False Christians. The beginning of the eight millennium. Physical destruction and "translation" of planet Earth.

There are several possible interpretations concerning the identity of the "Gallic Ogmios," although, considering the close proximity of events revolving around this figure and the obvious description of Christ's millennial reign, he most probably is the beast of Revelation. One interpretation is that the French leader following on the heels of the two Second World War paragraphs is General Charles De Gaulle. However, De Gaulle was never made an emperor; never expanded any French empire, let alone its "grand law," far and wide; and never invaded Spain (represented by Barcelona), which was neutral, at the conclusion of the war. Alternatively, the "Gallic Ogmios" passing Barcelona may refer to the nation of France itself, and its troops moving into Algeria in 1954 to fight against rebels in that country's seven-year civil war. The war was already four years old when De Gaulle actually came to power in 1958. The bloodshed "of the Innocents
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by the guilty raised and exalted" may refer to the Algerian Revolt which killed 20,500 French soldiers and 140,000 Algerian rebels during the fighting, and 3,000 Europeans and 20,000 Moslems from terrorist attacks. De Gaulle subsequently "passed Barcelona" and negotiated an end to hostilities in 1962. But in what sense could the Algerian rebels be considered "exalted"? De Gaulle "reigned" until 1970: but I don't recall him saying anything to the effect of "after me, the flood." A universal deluge, especially "in the North," during the last quarter of the 20th Century simply did not happen. If this is what Nostradamus had in mind, his prophetic gift definitely led him down the mother of all blind alleys. Another candidate for the Gallic imperator is Chiren, who will indeed liberate Spain at the conclusion of the Third World War and then establish and translate a great panEuropean empire. However, his will be an era of peace according to The Centuries, a time of post-war reconstruction, and definitely not a period when "Innocents" (Christians) will be persecuted and be subjected to bloodshed, for he will be a champion of the Church. It is clear that Nostradamus is describing yet another antichrist in the above paragraph. A more obvious interpretation is that the Gallic Ogmios is Ogmios himself, a character in The Centuries who inherits Chiren's empire. However, why does the Oracle of Salon go out of his way to describe this personality as "Gallic" when, in the quatrains, he provides ample evidence that he is a Celtic Briton? Also, the Ogmios of The Centuries never passes Mount Jovis (Barcelona)on the contrary, he is defeated by Spanish, French, and North African forces in the Pyrenees Mountains. However, the blood of Christians is definitely spilledbut not by him. It is important to note that the distance in time between the paragraph concerning events around 1792 and the paragraphs describing war in the 1940s, and the pivotal year of 1942 when the fortunes of the principal antagonists began to reverse, is 150 years. One might suspect that the interval of time between the "second Antichrist" and the "Gallic Ogmios" would be another 150 years. This brings us to the year 2092; however, as evidence in Chapter 4 will demonstrate, this will just be another year in a very great era of peace. But if we should double 150 and add 300 years to the events to take place around 1942 we arrive at 2242: the year Nostradamus indicates as the year of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ. In that context, all of the events described in the paragraphs above make sense. Also, Nostradamus is betraying the nationality of the beast of Revelation by saying that he is Gallic. The third and fourth antichrists were already presented earlier in the prose prophecy (as the "Attila" and "the Dog and Dohan"). The fifth antichrist, as we will soon discover, are the Lords of Aquilon, and the sixth a bloodthirsty king from the South. The binding of Satan for a thousand years and an announcement of Christ's millennial reign following a period of great floods definitely make this French emperor, this Gallic Ogmios, the seventh and last of Nostradamus' antichrists: the beast of Revelation. When we resume the main prophetic abstract at the point where we left off-with the chronicle of the Lords of Aquilonand progress further, this interpretation will become more apparent.

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In the epistle that some years ago I dedicated to my son Cesar Nostradamus, I have openly enough declared some things without prognosticating. But here, Sire, are comprehended many great and wonderful events, which those who come after us shall see.

At this point Nostradamus signals to the king that he is about to resume the main narrative which he interrupted after introducing the Lords of Aquilon. To appreciate the prose prophecy as it relates to the 21st Century and beyond, one would need only to read Paragraph 11, which commences with the "great lady" and her four children, through to Paragraph 23 which introduces the Lords of Aquilon, skip the next nine paragraphs, and resume the abstract with the following paragraph.

And during the said astronomical calculation, in harmony with the Sacred Scriptures, the persecution of the clergy shall have its beginning in the power of the Aquilonian Kings joined by the Orientals. And that persecution shall last eleven years, or a little less, at which time the chief Northern king shall fail, which years being ended, shall come in his stead a united Southern one, who shall yet more violently persecute the clergy of the Church for the space of three years by the apostolic seduction of one that shall have absolute power over the militant Church of God. The holy people of God and keepers of His law, and all order of religion, shall be grievously persecuted and afflicted, so much that the blood of the true ecclesiastical men shall flow all over. One of these horrid kings shall be praised by his followers for having spilt more human blood of the innocent clergymen than anyone has done to wine. The said king shall commit incredible crimes against the Church; human blood shall run through public streets and churches as water coming from an impetuous rain. Next, rivers shall be red with blood. In a sea battle the sea shall be red, so that one king will laugh to the other, "Bellis rubuit navalibus, aequor." After that in the same year, and those following, shall happen the most horrible pestilence, caused by the famine preceding, and such great tribulation as ever did happen since the first foundation of the Christian Church throughout all the Latin regions, some marks remaining in some of the Spanish countries.

Now we rejoin Daniels Chapter 11 again. The above paragraphs mark Nostradamus analogue to this period of future history Daniel relates under various headings ("Leagues and Conflicts," "the Ignoble King and the Great Destroyer," "Conflicts of future kings," etc.). In Paragraph 23, Nostradamus tells Henry II that the lords of Aquilon will be two in number. In the first of the two paragraphs above, he states that these kings will violently persecute Christianity over a space of eleven years. The principal Northern king will then die at the end of this period. Over the ensuing three years, the King of the South (North Africa, Arabia, and parts of Mediterranean Europe) will persecute Christians even more viciously, slaughtering
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many innocent people, and, according to both Nostradamus and Daniel, will war with the remaining Northern king. This war will be so horrible that rivers and seas will be red with the blood of the combatants. "Bellis rubuit navalibus aequor" translated means: "The sea blushes red with the blood of naval fights." These are the opening years of the great Tribulation, a term which Nostradamus himself uses in the second paragraph above.

Then the third Northern king, hearing the complaint of the people of his principal title, shall raise up so great an army, and defying the tradition of his predecessors, shall place everything back in its former state. The great Vicar of the Hood [the Pope] shall be restored in his former estate, but desolate and altogether forsaken, shall then go back to the sanctuary that was destroyed by Paganism, when the Old and New Testament will be thrust out and burnt. After that shall the Antichrist be the infernal prince. And in this last era all the kingdoms of Christianity and also of the infidels shall quake for the space of twenty-five years, and there shall be more grievous wars and battles; towns, cities, castles and other edifices shall be burnt, desolated and destroyed with a great effusion of vestal blood, married women and widows ravished, sucking children dashed against the walls of towns, and so many evils shall be committed by means of the infernal prince of Satan that almost the entire world shall be undone and desolate.

A third Northern king will make a great effort to restore the original Holy Empire and the glory of the Church in the same manner as his predecessors of old: Chiren and Philip. He will be briefly successful. Daniel describes him as the great "raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom [who] within few days [few years] shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle." The last pope (who Daniel calls "the prince of the covenant") will rule over a church mostly devoid of worshippers, then will give up his mission altogether, reigning from Rome as a figurehead over the corpse of the Catholic Church, eventually to be murdered. The Antichrist ("the vile person" or "Great Destroyer" of Daniel 11) will gain control of the Empire and bibles will be publicly burned, much in the same manner as the Nazis burned all books. It is difficult to determine whether the twenty-five years mentioned are to be applied to the Antichrist's reign or the era of Armageddon which follows. The Book of Revelation does not state exactly how long Armageddon will last; however, the reign of the beast is said to endure for only forty-two months (3 years), while the Tribulation is to last for seven years (the Antichrist will rule during the last half of Tribulation). I rather suspect that Nostradamus is laying out the parameters for the Anti-Christian age itself which commences during the reign of the Northern kings. In this last era there will be many antichrists, great and small, coming out of the woodwork like so many ants. Nowhere will it be safe. The Dog and Dohan could be said to be an antichrist. At least one member of the European Triumvirate will be an antichrist. The
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two Lords of Aquilon are definitely antichrists. The King Of the South is a rival antichrist. But all culminates in the end with the Antichrist of the Apocalypse and his bloody reign. During this most infernal age of persecution, Christian and nonChristian alike will be subjected to the most heinous brutality and martyrdom in all of human history.

Before these events many unusual birds shall fly through the air, crying "Huy, huy!" ["Now, now"']. A little while later they shall vanish. After this shall have lasted a good while, there shall be a renewed aspect of Saturn and a golden age. God the Creator shall say, hearing the affliction of His people, Satan shall be placed and tied in the bottom of the deep, and there shall begin an age of universal peace between God and man. The ecclesiastical power shall return in force and Satan shall be bound for the space of a thousand years, and then shall be loosed again.

Strange birds will appear throughout the world before the Tribulation, heralding its imminent arrival. When they vanish, the infernal age shall begin. The thousand-year reign of Christ is also mentioned here, along with the imprisonment of Satan in Tartarus for a thousand years. Then, according to the Book of Revelation, he will be let loose to work his evil again in the world one last time. Thus concludes the second portion of the main prophetic narrative: resuming with the Lords of Aquilon and finishing with the millennial reign of Christjust as Daniels narrative also concludes. Between Daniel and Nostradamus we have a much more detailed picture of these events and the future historical figures involved then we would have reading one or the other separately.

All these figures are justly fitted by the Sacred scriptures to the celestial bodies, that is to say, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, and others joined with them, as may be seen more at large in some of my quatrains. I would have calculated it more deeply, and coordinated one with the other, but seeing, 0 most excellent King, that some stand ready to censure me, I shall now withdraw my pen to its nocturnal repose. So many things, 0 most powerful of all kings, of the most remarkable kind are to happen soon, that I neither would nor could incorporate them all into this epistle; but in order to intelligently comprehend certain facts, a few horrid fated events must be set down in extract, although your amplitude and humanity toward mankind is so great, as is your piety to God, that you alone seem worthy of the great title of the most Christian King, and to whom the highest authority in all religion should be deferred. But I shall only beseech you, 0 most merciful King, by your singular and prudent goodness, to understand rather the desire of my heart, and the earnest desire I
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have to obey your most excellent Majesty, ever since my eyes were so near to your royal splendor, than the greatness of my word can attain to or deserve. From Salon this 27th of June, 1558. Faciebat Michael Nostradamus Salonae Petrae Provinciae.

This paragraph originally appeared italicized in Latin.

Before moving on to the third key to unlocking the prophecies of Nostradamus, it is important that we become more closely acquainted with the bete noires of the future we have been introduced to in the Epistle to Henry II and by the prophet Daniel. We must also finish some old business: unraveling the remaining mystery that appears in Daniel 8:9-14.

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THE ANTICHRISTS OF NOSTRADAMUS

Both Daniel and Nostradamus have briefly introduced us to those embodiments of evil that will bring death and devastation in their wake throughout much of the world. Yet each successive monster leads us ultimately to the final abomination: the beast of Revelation. This chapter endeavors to familiarize the reader with each of these kings so as to make understanding the chronological portion of this book easier. It is also important to lay the background of the beast and false prophet, their adversaries, and their immediate predecessors. It will be in this chapter that we will also tie up the remaining loose ends found in Daniel 8:9-14the mystic lineage of the beast. Thus far, we have established that the next manifestation of the Antichrist will arise in Iran and Central Asia. It will begin as an Iranian-led federation that will include nations and territories comprising Transcaucasia, the Caucasus, and possibly neighboring Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The leader of this federation may or may not be the personification of the third antichrist (recall my analogy of the Persian leader with Germanys Kaiser Wilhelm II). However, by the time Central Asia enters the picture and dominates the alliance in the 2020s, the leader of this "great empire of Antichrist" will definitely be the embodiment of antichrist himself. It is perhaps easier to think of the third antichrist in the same manner as the first. Robespierre and Marat were the architects of the first antichrist: the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. However, Emperor Napoleon I was the beneficiary of the first antichrist and became its embodiment. One can therefore identify Robespierre, Marat, or Napoleon (or preferably all three) as the first
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antichrist. Napoleon is the favorite, of course, because he held so much power for such a long period of time and conquered many nations. Likewise, the charismatic Iranian conqueror (the leader of Daniels "ram") and the next leader to be discussed are components of the third antichrist: however, this next figure will tower above the stature and menace of his predecessor.

The Third Antichrist: Raypoz, Lord of Asia

Epistle to Henry II Then the great Empire of Antichrist shall descend from the Attila, and Xerxes come down with an innumerable number of people.

3.60 Throughout all Asia great conscription, Also in Mycia, Lycia, and Pamphilia: Blood flows through absolution, Of a young king replete with evil.
The land of Attila the Hun: Siberia and Central Asia. The land of Xerxes, King of Persia, now modern Iran and adjacent countries. All of these historical regions are to be found in Asia Minor, now modern Turkey.

South of the Siberian lowlands and east of the Ural Mountains lies a part of Asia few people in the world paid any attention to, and most were ignorant of, until the end of 1991. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, five Central Asian republics have appeared on the map as new, fundamentally Moslem, nation-states: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In addition, regions of Russia adjacent to Kazakhstansuch as Tatarstanare attempting to assert their independence. To the north, stretching eastward for 4,000 miles, lies the frigid country of the Siberian Tatarsthe land of Attila the Hun. It was from the Huns, essentially a Mongol people, that all the Turkic tribes descended, including Central Asia, a region also referred to as Turkestan. Not since the days of the Seljuk and early Ottoman empires has this portion of Asia commanded so much international interest and speculation. To the east of Turkestan lies Xinjiang province, Mongolia, and northern Chinaall comprising a part of Asia sometimes still referred to as Tartary (of which Turkestan is also a part) which was once the genesis of the medieval Khanate of the Golden Horde. Its people are a mix of Turkic, Tartar, and Mongol tribes, many of whom today also practice the Moslem religion.

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The Tartar nations may provide significant funding and military support to Central Asia during the fourth global conflict. It will also become the seat of a terrible Oriental dictatorship which will emerge in the late 22nd Century as we discover later when we discuss the "great Dog and Dohan."

The Turko-Russian War According to Nostradamian Henry C. Roberts and psychic Jeane Dixon, the first nation to be threatened by this emerging Moslem federation will be their neighbor to the north: Russia. Although Roberts doesn't identify the menace in Quatrain 1.49 "those of the Moon"as coming from Central Asia (he suspects China), he definitely links them to the religion of Islam and an invasion of Russia in the year 2025. Interestingly enough, Jeane Dixon also foresees war between Red China and Russia from 2025 until 2037. Events revealed in 6.2 suggest the completion of the conquest of Russia along with four of her northern neighbors. This quatrain is dated by Roberts as occurring in 2028 AD (see Chapter 4: "The Council Datings"). Dixon concurs with a vision of a "Chinese" conquest of five northern nations by 2037AD: Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Nostradamus, however, never appeared to envision this "Chinese connection"; he quite clearly points his finger at those of "the Attila" (Russia, Turkestan, and Siberia) and "Xerxes" (Persia). While the danger of such a war does not appear imminent, some authorities believe a conflict between Moslem Turkestan and Orthodox Russia will one day be inevitable. The power of Central Asia, however, is little changed from what it was upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in late December of 1991. Unification is key to the concept of an Islamic Turkestan, a region which can hardly be said to be united. Civil war in Tajikistan has brought in the Russians and other C.I.S. republics. Uzbekistan remains in political limbo. Kyrgyzstan has alienated itself from the other four exSoviet Central Asian states by pursuing democracy instead of nationalism. Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia continue to compete for influence and power throughout the region. Meanwhile, the specter of pan-Turkism has also appeared in Central Asia. The Pan-Turkestan Movement headquarters in Uzbekistan features an eye-popping wall map: The movement's proposed 'Turkestan' includes Ukraine, Persian-speaking Tajikistan and even part of Iran.

World War IV According to Nostradamus, out of this confusion of nationalism, Islam, ethnic conflict, foreign intrigue, Pan-Turkic ideology and nuclear competition will emerge a young dictator during the third decade of the 21st Century. As viciously anti-Western as his Iranian mentors, he will first subjugate Russia and the nations of the Arctic north, then accomplish that which has never been accomplished: the total conquest of Europe, including the British Isles. One day the minions of this Asian antichrist will
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assemble for prayer, bowing eastward toward Mecca and Astana from London, Brussels, and Stockholm. First the Low Countries will fall:

Composite: Nostradamus and Paracelsus Mount Aventine* will be seen burning at night, the entire sky suddenly obscured in Flanders. There shall proceed a solar eclipse, the most dark and obscure that was since the creation of the world. Following the great and fearful eclipse of the sun ... then there shall overflow as the waters of a mighty river all kinds of revolts, riots, wars, slaughter, murders, conflagrations and all evil into the Northern countries. Then beware, Brabant,** Flanders*** and Zeeland and those places where cheese is eaten ...when those of Hainult, Ghent, and Brussels see before Langres the siege laid.
* One of the seven hills of Rome. ** Central district of the lowlands of Belgium and the Netherlands, comprising Belgian Brabant, Antwerp, and Noord Brabant in the southern Netherlands. *** A former political unit that now comprises northern Belgium, southern Netherlands, and the department of Le Nord in France. Old name for the Netherlands. Includes not only the countries already named, but presumably Luxembourg and Denmark as well. Now spelled Hainaut. Southwestern Belgium. A major city in northwestern Belgium. The capital of Belgium. A city bordering the departments of Champagne, Lorraine, and Franche in northeastern France.

The Kazakh conqueror will invade England and Scotland:

Composite: Robert Nixon, Nostradamus, Ursula Southiel, Coineach Odhar Foreign nations shall invade England with snow on their helmets. The marine city will be seized by the enemy. In the North the efforts will be great. London will tremble when the fleet is discovered. With a number of people shall he pass many waters and shall come to the land of the Lion and shall destroy castles of the Thames. The crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Druim-Uachdair ... deer and other wild animals in the huge wilderness shall be exterminated by horrid black rains.
Northern Europe. This would include Scandinavia and Finland along with the nations mentioned by Paracelsus and Nostradamus. Great Britain, England.

The 16th-century prophetess Ursula Southiel (also known as Mother Shipton), like the late Jeane Dixon, apparently believed this fork in future history would bring the world
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face to face with the beast of Revelation himself. However, unlike Ms. Dixon, who has identified a future Arab leader from Egypt or Israel (her "Child from the East") as the Antichrist, Mother Shipton favors his adversary, the dictator from Turkestan in the role of the beast:
In the original vision of February 1962, Dixon dreamt this child as being a new messiah. La ter she changed her story, and declared that the new messiah would actually be the Antichrist of Revelation. She never provided a reason for this change. It is therefore possible that her "Child of the East" will be what she originally presented him as being: a reincarnation of Christ in human form.

Then shall come the Son of Man, having a fierce beast in his arms, which kingdom lies in the Land of the Moon, which is dreadful throughout the whole world; with a number of people shall he pass many waters and shall come to the land of the Lion [and] shall destroy castles of the Thames, and there shall be a battle among many kingdoms.
Christ is called the "son of man" in Holy scripture. Southiel believes this to be the beast of Revelation. The Turkic crescent moon. Great Britain, England.

The echoes of this war and this era of future history must have been distinctive indeed to have reached back so far into timeeven the Great Pyramid of Cheops, according to some authorities, portends calamitous events for the 2030s and 2040s, followed by the intervention of the Messiah. To some prophets who were given the gift to glimpse this fatal crossroads, like Jeane Dixon and Mother Shipton, it must have seemed the very end of history itself. However, in his Epistle to Henry II, Nostradamus assures us that, despite the apocalyptic nature of this war and the vile dictator who will prosecute it, and despite global and celestial cataclysms which will include a protracted eclipse of the sun and a catastrophic shift in the earth's axis, Armageddon and the Second Coming will still be a considerable distance ahead in the future. Nevertheless, the time will be sufficiently horrible enough for Gods spiritual presence to come to the aid of Western forces "from the 48th degree of latitude" which will liberate Europe and the Middle East and rid the world of the third antichrist. But this should not be confused with the actual Second Coming of Jesus Christ as espoused in Revelation. One might, however, be tempted to call it a dress rehearsal.
Or as Max Toth and others assert, the incarnation of the Holy Spirit in the physical body of a man, the temporary reincarnation of the Messiah.

In 9.44, Nostradamus attempts to name the third antichrist during his conquest of Switzerland:

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9.44 Migrate, migrate from Geneva everyone, Saturn from gold to iron will change, Those against RAYPOZ shall all be exterminated, Before the invasion the sky will show signs.

In 6.81, the horror wrought by Raypoz continues:

6.81 Tears, cries and pleas, howling with terror, An inhuman heart, cruel, black, and cold: Lake Geneva, the Islands, the majors of Genoa, Blood pours, hunger for wheat, mercy to none.

The prophet of Provence also tells us how long the Fourth World War will last:

8.77 Antichrist three very soon annihilated, Twenty-seven years of blood endures his war. The heretics dead, captive, exiled. Blood, human bodies, red water, hail cover the earth.

According to Dr. Christian Wollner (1926), the conquest of Europe and nuclear attacks on North America will occur on December 7, 2044 based on astrological clues provided in Quatrain 2.65. Afterward, the dictator of Kazakhstan will raise his bloodred flag on Italian soil. Portions of southern Italy and the Latin islands will be turned into desert. Christian Europeans and Sunni Arabs will be exterminated in death camps. But eventually evacuated British military units will organize with the Americans in the U.S. and Canada, and implement the liberation of France and the British Isles. Europe and the Arab Empire will be liberated by the French, Belgians, Germans and the transmigration of the Holy Spirit, and the third antichrist will die retreating to eastern Russia during a massive nuclear strike on his position. Finally, in the year 2052, the world will embark upon a great peace which will last 141 years.

The Great Dog and Dohan: LOriental

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5.54 From the Black Sea and great Tartary A king will come who will see France. He will pass through Alania and Armenia And in Turkey will leave his bloody scepter.

Epistle to Henry II And it shall seem, from the kingdoms spoiled by the Eastern men, that God the Creator has loosed Satan from his infernal prison, to cause to be born the great Dog and Dohan [Gog and Magog], who shall make so abominable a breach in the West.

Beyond its current capability to menace the Pacific as "the red adversary," Nostradamus foresees another time when China will bring down great destruction upon the entire world when its leader will be a latter-day Genghis Khan. This "Oriental" who will "come out of his seat" to attack France will come from "great Tartary." As discussed earlier, the geographical regions comprising Tartary include the Xinjiang province of China, Mongolia, Turkestan, Manchuria, and eastern Siberia. This "principal Eastern ruler," as Nostradamus calls him in the Epistle to Henry II, will also possess territories in the "Antipodes" (Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other Pacific islands). According to Charles A. Ward's parenthetical remark in the above Epistle excerpt which heads this section, the great Dog and Dohan will be none other than "Gog, of the land of Magog"the biblical monster described by the prophet Ezekiel. Since he will "come out of his seat" (Quatrain 2.29) from "great Tartary," Gog must be understood to be an emperor or khan. The Bible also calls him a prince: "Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal" (ancient territories of Asia Minor, now Turkey), and also prince of "Togarmah" (Turkmenistan and ancient Armenia). "Magog" may represent the region from which Genghis Khan originally sprang forth: Mongolia and western China. He wields a "bloody scepter," another symbol of dictatorial power, which Nostradamus says he will carry to Istanbulthe new Western seat from which he will govern his Turkic and Caucasian acquisitions. These are "the northern parts" referred to by Ezekiel. This new "Golden Horde" will absorb Turkestan and Afghanistan and then cross the Ural Mountains sometime around July 13, 2193 according Wollner's calculation of planetary clues in Quatrain 2.48:

2.48 The great army will pass over the mountains When Saturn is in Sagittarius and Mars moving into Pisces:

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Venom concealed under the heads of donkeys, The chief hung by the warlord's son.

Gog will descend upon the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and establish his western capital in Istanbul:

5.54 He will pass through Alania and Armenia, And in Byzantium will leave his bloody scepter.

Later he will spread his Khanate into Europe. An invasion of Italy, France, and Switzerland is foretold:

2.29 The Oriental will come out of his seat And pass over the Appenines mountains to view France: He will travel through the sky, the sea, and the snow, And he will strike everyone with his scepter.

It appears that Gog will persecute the Sunnis and ally with the Shiites much after the fashion of Raypoz, his Attilian 21st-century predecessor. According to the prophet Ezekiel, Iran, Ethiopia, and Libya will be staunch allies of the land of Magog. Gog and his Persian-African allies will attack Sheba (Yemen), Dedan (western Saudi Arabia), Tarshish (southern Spain), the Lions (Great Britain), as well as the mountains of northern Israel. It is at this point that the science and technology of war will take a back seat, for the hand of God Himself will punish the land of Magog and its allies with an allconsuming fire. Suddenly cities all over the world become depopulated by what appears to be a catastrophic nuclear war resulting from the supernatural destruction of five-sixths of Gog's forces. According to the Book of Revelation, one-third of the world's population will die during this holocaust. The size of Gogs army is also assessed as being 200,000,000 strong. That means that 167,000,000 Asian soldiers will be incinerated by God's celestial fire, which many may interpret as a space-born phenomenon. The powers of Russia and Northern Europe will save the badly-beaten Western nations, defeating the remnants of Gog's army and his allies utterly. After a sevenmonth cease-fire, the Far East commits unforgivable violations, renewing the war. Two powerful Northern leaders then destroy the Great Wall of China during a
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devastating attack on China and the Pacific, thus ending the War of Gog: World War V.

The Lords of Aquilon

Daniel 11:6-7 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm...and one shall stand up in his estate, which shall come with a great army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them.

Epistle to Henry II And then shall the Lords of Aquilon be two in number, victorious over the Orientals, and there shall be such a great noise and tumult of war that all the Orient shall tremble for fear of those two brothers of the North who are not yet brothers. The persecution of the clergy shall have its beginning in the power of these Northern kings...and that persecution shall last eleven years, or a little less, at which time the chief Northern king shall fail, his years being ended.

According to the far-seeing French visionary, the final era of persecution of the Christian Church shall have its beginning in the power of two Northern kings. We can determine from this information that Germany and Russia will be the two most powerful nations of a vast part of the world Nostradamus calls Aquilon (translated as "the land of the North"). According to Nostradamus, the lands comprising Aquilon will all lie above the 50th degree of latitude. The subject of Aquilon is discussed in greater detail in the chronological portion of this book. Germany will dominate a Northern federation consisting of Belgium, the Netherlands, northern France, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, while Russia's federation will include Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belarus, and the Baltics. In addition, both leaders will co-rule central and western France, northern and central Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Moldavia, and Ukraine in the fashion of an imperial duumvirate. This will be the government which the beast of Revelation will later seize. The prophet of Provence also states in his Epistle to Henry II that Mediterranean Europe will be conjoined with "North African communication," indicating a Southern alliance between North Africa, the Levant, the Arab peninsula, Spain, Portugal, southern and eastern France, Monaco, southern Switzerland, Italy, the Islands, and the
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Balkans. A family of Southern caliphs will rule this region of the world and will come into numerous conflicts with the Lords of Aquilon. After the death of the Russian leader, a very strong Southern ruler will dominate the region for a period of three years. He will attempt to conquer the North, and fight several wars with the remaining Northern monarch, his successor, and also with the beast of Revelation. He will be profiled shortly. As for Great Britain, the United States, and Canada, Nostradamian Stewart Robb (1991) has provided much prophetic evidence suggesting that these countries will become a single political union sometime during the second half of the 21st Century. In The Centuries, the Lords of Aquilon appear in only six or seven of the quatrains. However, one verse may actually provide us with the names of these two Northern tyrants. The action takes place during the conclusion of a major battle between Southern forces and the armies of the North, when the principal Northern king dies:

8.85 Between Bayonne and St. Jean de Luz Will be placed the promontory of Mars [War]. To Hanix of Aquilon, Nanar removes the light, Then suffocates in bed without assistance.

Another quatrain provides a bit more detail on this battle and Nanar of Aquilon's death:

2.47 The great enemy watches with grief the old man dead from poison, The sovereigns are subjugated by an infinite number. A rain of meteors, concealed under the fleece Through his death articles in vain are asserted.

Note that "sovereigns" is plural, indicating that both monarchs are overcome by the Southern army. The rain of meteors places this quatrain in the final decades of human history since Nostradamus indicates in his Preface to Cesar that this type of phenomenon will occur frequently near the end of the seventh millennium (approximately the last 49 years before Armageddon). It will be left for the remaining Northern duumvir, Eiovas, the German Hanix, to govern both Northern blocs for the next ten years and compete with a new, deadly adversary over the fate of Europea foe as diabolical as himself.

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Mendosus: The King of the South

Daniel 11:11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth to fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

Epistle to Henry II The chief Northern king shall fail, which years being ended, shall come in his stead a united Southern one, who shall yet more violently persecute the clergy of the Church for the space of three years. One of these horrid kings shall be praised by his followers for having spilt more human blood of the innocent clergymen than anybody has done to wine. Rivers shall run red with blood. In a sea fight the sea shall be red, so that one king will laugh and say to the other, 'The sea blushes red with the blood of naval battles.'

With the arrival of this new and dreadful figure, the persecution of Christianity in Europe reaches an unprecedented level. Exterminations will be the order of the day, with both the Northern and Southern kings competing to see who will able to spill the most blood. And yet, as horrific as this era will be, it is only a pallid dress rehearsal for what will occur during the infernal reign of the beast of Revelation. Not only will these two antichrists seek to upstage one another in the arena of human misery, but they will war with one another as well. We can only guess at the nationality of this Southern king when we consider the fact that he will reign over both North Africa and Mediterranean Europe; however, evidence in The Centuries suggest that he might be a Spanish Moor with blood ties to a Libyan dynasty originally established by the Gadhafi bloodline or possibly a later Egyptian dynasty. He will then capture central and northern France, Belgium, northern Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, and lower Germany from the Hanix of Aquilon (who appears in the running heads of some Bible versions of the Book of Daniel, Chapter 11, as "the Ignoble King"). After a period of three years, the Northern king will recapture these lost territories after a major, decisive battle. Still, part of Europe under the domination of Milan, Lyon, and Barcelona the citystates of Catalonia, Lombardy, the Rhone-Alps region, and adjacent dependencies will remain loyal to the South. These three regions will be a stumbling block against European reunification and the cause of continued warfare between Europe and Africa under the reigns of a third Northern king and the beast: one whom Nostradamus calls "Antichrist, the infernal prince."

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In Quatrains 9.45 and 9.50, Nostradamus names a South European emperor who has "barbarian" (North African/Arab support):

9.45 Never will there remain one to ask, Great Mendosus will obtain his empire. Far from his court he will countermand, Piedmont, Picardy, Paris, the Tyrrhenian Sea the worst.

9.50 Mendosus will soon come to his highest reign Putting behind him a little the Lorraine: The pale red one, the man in the interregnum, The frightened young one, and the Barbarian terror.

In Latin, mendosus literally means "full of faults." It may also be a corruption of Mendoza, a common enough Spanish name. Since the regions mentioned in line four of 9.45 are located in France and Italy, and they are described as "far from his court," that would seem to suggest a southern Spaniard, and probably a Moor since he will be allowed to rule over the many Arab lands in Africa and southwest Asia. His placing of French Lorraine behind him in 9.50 suggests a drive to obtain territory north of France. The "man in the interregnum" is apparently the remaining Northern king who continues to rule Aquilon and the Empire after the death of his Russian partner. If the Aquilonians are elected monarchs, then perhaps eleven years is the length of each term. Thus, the Russian leader will have died early in the duumvirate's second term, leaving the German leader to complete the term alone. The "pale red one" may be a southern French communist in league with the King of the South, one whom Nostradamus calls "Tucham the Red" in Quatrain 10.22. The "frightened young one" is more difficult to place: perhaps a British or American leader facing nuclear attack from the King of the North. Since Mendosus acquires his empire with the aid of barbarian (North African) terror, this would tend to make him their leader: the King of the South. With the passing of the Ignoble King and the King of the South put in his place, it would appear that a period of relative quiet might ensue. And so it does. A third man comes on the scene in the North: a reformer. It looks as though the anti-Christian age may be coming to a close, and a new golden age is about to begin

The Third King of the North: A Tragic Renovator

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Daniel 11:20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

Epistle to Henry II Then the third Northern king, hearing the complaint of the people of his principal title, shall raise up so great an army, and defying the tradition of his predecessors, shall place everything back in its former state. The great Vicar of the Hood [the Pope] shall be restored in his former estate, but desolate and altogether forsaken, shall then go back to the sanctuary that was destroyed by Paganism.

It seems that a good man has come to correct the fault of his predecessors, a would-be Charlemagne the prophet calls the great Wittemberg; but, lamentably, his reign shall be short (twenty months according to Quatrain 8.65, "few days" according to the prophet Daniel). Like the French liberator, Chiren, who will defeat the Moslem armies at the conclusion of World War III, he will attempt to restore the Catholic Church to her former status, installing a new pope in the Vatican. But the effort will be fruitless. By that time Europe will be almost wholly given over to paganism, and Christianity will exist, at best, as a secondary religion, and at worst, as a network of underground sects. Still, Nostradamus speaks of "the kingdoms of Christianity" which will exist during the time of the final antichrist. Perhaps Great Britain and America will be two of these. According to the 12th-century prophet Malachy, the last pope, Peter the Roman, will feed his flock and lead the faithful through Tribulation. But according to Nostradamus, nothing quite so glorious is in store for the last "Vicar of the Hood." He will preside over a virtually empty Vatican, essentially devoid of followers, then, utterly forsaken, retreat once more into hiding. Nor will the third Northern ruler's efforts bring about peace. A war of annexation will fail to return to the empire a swath of territory running from Venetia through Switzerland, Lombardy, Piedmont, Savoy, Dauphine, Provence, Monaco, and the Pyrenees mountains. These prosperous regions, built around the Milan-LyonBarcelona city-state federation discussed earlier, will still remain in league with the King of the South and will cause great destruction to the invading imperial forces. As Daniel states, this Northern renovator will impose great taxation on the populace to achieve his goals, and will be forced to stoop to tyrannical measures. A climate of insurrection and hostility will ensue and martial law will be invoked. He will hold the Empire for twenty months:

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8.65 The old man, frustrated in his principal aspiration, Will attain to the leadership of his empire: Twenty months he will hold the reign with great power, Tyrant, cruel in giving way to one worse.

Meantime, two individuals will be working secretly to accomplish the Northern king's overthrow: both will be leaders of a strange, new religion which will burst upon the scene during the discovery of an ancient Roman tomb. Both of these men will stir up the nations of Europe with their visions, their revelatory rantings of a new age, their dreams of greatness for humanity, and their rejection of all things past. Fearful of the popularity of this new faith and the charisma of its leaders, the third Northern king will travel to Dreux, and while there will attempt to think through a scheme which will diffuse the unraveling threat to his rule and his world:

9.57 In the place of DREUX a king will rest And search for a law to replace Anathema, While the sky will thunder so very loudly, At the new gate the King will kill himself.

In a scene almost reminiscent of one of The Omen films, the king will inexplicably take his own life. "He shall be destroyed," says the prophet Daniel, "neither in anger, nor in battle." His enigmatic end will be accompanied by a strange and terrifying electrical storm of unnatural origin. But then again, this will be a time of miracles.

The False Prophet

Revelation 13:13-15 He doeth wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

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1.46 All around Auch, Lectoure, and Mirande Great fire from the sky will fall for three nights: The cause will appear quite stupendous and marvelous, A very short time later the earth will tremble.

1.96 A man who is charged with the destruction Of temples and sects, changed through fantasy: More the rocks will he harm rather than the living, By ornate speeches are his ears filled with a din.

One of the two new religious leaders will be both a prophet and a sorcerer. He will pave the way for the acceptance of the leader: his messiah, the Antichrist. This diabolical version of Merlin and John the Baptist will also serve as a mouthpiece, announcing and praising the beast in stirring preambles before each of his speeches. He will also be the enforcer of the faith, bringing down death and destruction to all thosenations and individuals alikewho refuse to worship the Antichrist as the world's new messiah. In 4.100 we are given the scope of his powers:

4.100 Celestial fire will fall upon the royal edifice When the luminosity of Mars has weakened: For seven months great war, people dead through witchcraft, Rouen, Evereux will not fail the King.

This future prophet/sorcerer appears to share some intriguing characteristics with the legendary wizard Merlin, friend and advisor to King Arthur, otherwise known as Myrddyn vab Morvryn. According to some legends Merlin was a product of a union between a fierce and powerful demon and a Welsh princess, in others he was the spawn of Satan and a virgin nun. As a prophet, Merlin's accuracy was uncanny. He allegedly predicted, among other things, Guinevere's betrayal of Arthur; the darkness and plague which would fall upon Arthur's empire; his own undoing and imprisonment by Morgan le Fay; the career of Geoffrey of Monmouth; the death of Prince William, son of Henry I, by drowning; the Welsh rebellions against Henry IV and Henry V; the rise and fall of the British Empire; the coming of a great French monarch who would restore the Pope and his Church at the conclusion of a terrible global war; and the coming of a new Arthur and his own return to the world at the end of time.

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Whether or not Merlin actually envisioned a physical return or some form of reincarnation is a matter open to conjecture. Perhaps he foresaw the advent of two people who were only reminiscent of Arthur and himself. And perhaps it was nothing more than wishful thinking on Merlin's partthe idea of Arthur's return certainly has been a British obsession over the centuries both in literature and in oral tradition. Indeed, icons and tapestries depicting Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and his knights have been found as far away as Italy. But was Arthur truly the humane and noble hero portrayed by Mallory and others in such works as Le Morte Darthur? To the Welsh bards, from which the early English historians depended upon much of their information concerning Arthur, he was known as "Arthur the Cruel," a somewhat ignoble hero. Brutal and sadistic since childhood, he gloated over the bodies of slain Saxons, gleefully commending their souls to hell; he executed and disfigured the children and wives of his enemies; and he was presented as a man driven by maddening dreams of power and ambition to become King of Rome and then to extend his empire to the Holy Land. In regards to Rome he nearly succeeded, but was thwarted by news of his incestuous son Modred's machinations against him in Britain. In a monastery at Glastonbury the remains of Arthur were allegedly uncovered in 1191 by its monks. The skull bore the scars of ten wounds and a great unhealed cleft shaped by the sword of Modred. In legend, Arthur was taken to the mysterious, western isle of Avalon to be healed. Is the skull authentic, or does Arthur mab Uthr sleep in Avalon stillhis fatal head wound healedwaiting to attain to his future empire?

The Antichrist

Revelation 13:1-6 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

Daniel 11:21-22, 36 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom
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by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood they shall be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant [the final pope]. And the king shall do according to his will; and shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods.

Epistle to Henry II The Old and New Testament will be thrust out and burnt. After that shall the Antichrist be the infernal prince. And in this last era all the kingdoms of Christianity and also those of the infidels shall quake for the space of twenty-five years, and there shall be more grievous wars and battles, towns, cities, citadels and other edifices shall be burnt, desolate and destroyed with a great effusion of vestal blood, married women and widows ravished, sucking children dashed against the walls of towns, and so many evils shall be committed by means of the infernal prince of Satan, that almost the entire world shall be undone and desolated.

Nostradamus leaves us no doubt that this is the ultimate fiend, Satan's favorite, the beast of Revelation. His quatrains are also conspicuously peppered with very specific and detailed predictions concerning the Antichrist and his government. Following on the heels of the great "raiser of taxes" (Nostradamus' "third Northern king"), it is certain that the "vile person" being described by the prophet Daniel is the beast. In the running heads of some bibles, in Daniel 11 he is also given the name "the Great Destroyer." The twenty-five years mentioned above most likely refer to the age of antiChristianity ushered in by the Aquilonian kings and continued under the reigns of the King of the South and the beast and false prophet. Revelation specifically states that his rule will endure for only forty-two months. Does the French seer distinguish this short reign anywhere in The Centuries? Indeed, he does:

1.4 By the universe will be made a monarch, Who in peace and life will not hold long, Then is lost the ship of the fisherman [the barque of St. Peter] Which will be ruled to its greatest detriment.

The next two quatrains suggest that the Antichrist will "discover" his purpose, birthright, and destiny when an ancient tomb is excavated:

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6.66 At the founding of a new sect, The bones of the great Roman will be discovered. A sepulchre in marble will appear covered, The earth trembles in April, evil burial.

9.84 The king exposed will perfect the sacrifice After he discovers his origin. A torrent to open the tomb of marble and lead, One of a great Roman with the ensign of Melusine.

The reference to Melusine suggests that it is King Arthur's tomb itself which is found. If so, that would make the beast a diabolical reincarnation. He will not realize his past-life identity until he witnesses the exhumation of his own bones. This arturus diabolis will have already established his religious sect just prior to the discovery; however, the revelation of his originwhich will be confirmed by the false prophet, himself already a celebrated sorcerer and prognosticatorwill ensure his claim to fame and power. Note also that the quatrain number, 6.66, is the number of the beast of Revelation. Some historians believe that Arthur was a great Celtic warrior, a former RomanBriton general named Artorius, or even one of the would-be successors to Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor of the West. Thus, Nostradamus calls Arthur "the great Roman." But the most convincing clue in 9.84 is the reference to Melusine, a fairy enchantress of whom Arthur claimed to be a direct descendent. It was for this reason he was believed to be charmed, and aided by her supernatural kin most of his natural life. In the following quatrain, Nostradamus warns that only the chosen one may enter the tomb after it has been discovered. This time it appears that the reincarnated Arthur will be either French or a Brythonic Celt:

9.7 He who opens the discovered tomb And who will not come to close it promptly, Evil will come to him which no one will be able to prove. It would be better if he were a Breton or Norman king.

The original Arthur was, of course, king over the Bretons as well as the Britons, and his legendary empire included much of Gaul. This, along with Arthur's probable

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Celtic heritage, justified Nostradamus in trying to present him as both a French and British champion. Nostradamus, fierce nationalist that he was, got a lot of mileage out of the designation "Celtic"a common denominator for France, the British Isles, and Belgium -when he could no longer aggrandize peoples and place-names more directly associated with France. He also applied the term "Gaul" to represent either France or Belgium. Throughout many of his verses it is clear that the prophet wished to impress upon his readers with the greatness of France and the important role she would play throughout future history, even if that meant somehow stealing some of the thunder from the destinies of her Celtic and Gallic neighbors. Having survived his rite of passage by entering the threshold of the deadly tomb and leaving it intact, the new Arthur will wield his metaphorical Excaliber:

1.84 The moon obscured in great gloom, Her brother becomes the color of blood: The great one long hidden under shadows, Shall wield his iron in the bloody rain.

Merlin's cave will have been discovered as well, at a time that the third Northern king, his son, wife, and brother are caught up in a royal scandal. But Merlin will already have long since departed:

8.66 When the inscription D.M. is found, And the ancient cave with a lamp is discovered: Law, King, and Prince Ulpius tried, In the pavilion, Queen and Duke beneath the covering.

There can be no doubt that Nostradamus was familiar with the legends of Arthur and Merlin as they appeared widely in the literature of France as well as of Britain. He would certainly have been familiar with the legends of Merlin's threefold death or his bewitching by Morgan le Fay (Morgause, Niniana, or Vivienne in other accounts) and his eternal imprisonment in the depths of a cave or beneath a rockwherein he awaits Doomsday and the breaking of the spell. The cave, whose whereabouts remains a mystery still, could be located anywhere from Scotland to France. The legend of Arthur's departure to Avalon to be healed after being mortally wounded by Modred in the Battle of Camlann might have also fueled interest in the French prophet, particularly the belief that Arthur sleeps there still, awaiting his resuscitation
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and return to the world of men. He may be alluding to this theme of the sleeping king in Quatrain 2.73:

2.73 Lake Fucino to the shore of Lake Garda, Lake Geneva captive to the port of Orgon: Born of three arms it predicts an image of war With three kingdoms for the great Endymion.

In Greek mythology, Endymion was a shepherd youth loved by Selene, the moongoddess, while he slept. Because of this, Selene was negligent in her duties, causing the chief god, Zeus, to offer Endymion an ultimatum: death or eternal sleep. Endymion chose the latter. Thus, Nostradamus seems to be describing a great king who emerges from a death-like trance and then proceeds to conquer the aforementioned city-states of Lombardy, Catalonia, the Rhone-Alps and dependent regions. The prophet Daniel mentions the subjugation of these three kingdoms in his seventh chapter:

Daniel 7:24-25 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings: And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints.

Arthurian parallels abound in the Book of Revelation:

Arthur 1) cruel, sadistic 2) Merlin is a sorcerer and a prophet 3) mortally wounded and taken to Avalon to heal 4) "the once and future king" who will return 5) conferred at round table with twelve or thirteen knights; dreamt of holding top position in the fabled nine-seat Wheel of Fortune 6) brought curse of death and darkness

The beast 1) cruel, sadistic 2) the false prophet is a sorcerer 3) has fatal head wound, yet lives 4) "was, is not, yet is" and is "yet to come" 5) will confer at one-hour durations with ten subordinate kings; table may be patterned after NATO council round table 6) will bring curse of death and darkness upon his kingdom 7) both the beast and false prophet are
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upon his kingdom born of dark, obscure parentage 7) both Arthur and Merlin are born under enigmatic or supernatural circumstances

The Centuries contain a number of mysterious quatrains relating to a resurrected king who "comes out of his tomb," the "Endymion," one who arises from a "false sleep," a "posthumous one," and a "Phoenix emperor." All seem to predict the coming of a slain and lamented leader who will return from the dead. They conform well to the beast described in Revelation by John at Patmos, but they also fitfully echo the theme of Arthur, "the once and future king." In his Epistle to Henry II, Nostradamus again indicates a French origin for the Antichrist in no uncertain terms:

Afterwards the Gallic Ogmion shall pass Barcelona, followed with such a number that even far off the Empire shall present its grand law, and then and for some time after shall be profusely spilled the blood of the innocents by the guilty raised on high. Then by great deluges the memory of those things contained in such instruments shall receive incalculable loss, even to the letters themselves. This will happen to those of the North by the will of God. By the Divine Will Satan will be bound once more, and universal peace shall be among men.

One need not think too intently on this passage to realize that Nostradamus is describing the reign of the Antichrist and its aftermath: global catastrophe followed by the millennial reign of Christ and the imprisonment of Satan in Tartarus for a thousand years. He emphasizes that the "Ogmion" in this case (Ogmios, who was discussed earlier, was the Celtic analogue of Hercules or Mercury) is Gallic, thus making him a continental Celt and definitely a native of France. This would suggest that the arturus diabolis is a reincarnation or a descendent of the original Arthur and not the authentic figure. Continuing with the Arthur theme, historian J. Markale, the leading authority today on Celtic history, ascribes the Arthur of old with a somewhat abhorrent physiognomy. In this passage he compares the characters of Arthur, Kai, and Bedwyr with what he believes to be their Indo-European mythological counterparts:

Bedwyr is one-armed, and although Nuada Silver Hand would appear the obvious choice as his Irish counterpart, in reality Finn is much closer. For Finn, like Bedwyr, Tyr and Mucius Scaevola, is renowned for his cunning. Ultimately it is his manipulation of the situation which rids him of Diarmaid, not his physical strength. Kai, on the other hand, is a herculean figure of almost
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unthinkable force. He is called Kai Hir, Kai the Longman, and can clearly be matched with the Irish Cailte who overcomes the boar of Formael single-handed. So we are left with Arthur on the one hand and Odin, the last of the Teutonic trio, on the other. But Odin is one-eyed like Horatio Cocles, although he is a visionary, a seer, an omniscient and omnipotent god leading his warriors on their wanderings through the universe. And if we look at Irish epic, we find an equivalent figure in Aaed, Finn's rival, who is nicknamed Goll, "the One-eyed Man." Logically then Arthur should be not only a filius horribilis but one-eyed. Then the divine Indo-European trio would be as complete in the British tradition as it appears to be in Irish epic.

In two of his series of unfulfilled quatrains concerning an infamous and thoroughly evil king of Blois, his indisputable candidate for the Antichrist (it was even necessary for a Church censor to delete the final line from one of the verses), the French prophet stumbles upon a prediction which seems to echo Professor Markale's deductions:

3.55 In the year when the one-eyed man will reign in France, The court will be in very great trouble: The great one of Blois by his friend is slain, The realm then put into evil and double doubt.

3.41 The beast will be elected by the council, A more hideous monster on earth never seen, The flying shot will pierce his eye, By the traitor whom the King received as loyal.

The beast is dead, but not for long. In Quatrain 7.24 "he who was buried will come out of his tomb" only to fall once again into a death-like trance. The "war of the Endymion" to reclaim the three aforementioned city-states from the King of the South will then be in progress, his nervous followers passing his place of repose, impatiently awaiting his return to consciousness. In one dumb-founding quatrain penned by the celebrated visionary, we are even provided with a name to ponder over:

3.92 The world nears its final period, Saturn will again be late on its return:

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The empire will be translated toward a dark-skinned nation, The eye of Autour shot out at Narbonne.

In this quatrain Nostradamus uses an old Roman-Celtic variant of Arthur: Artur, which is derived from Arturus, spelling it Autour in anagram (the word "autour" in French means "around," however, in this context, and capitalized, such a translation would make nonsense of this stanza). To those familiar with the Book of Revelation or the Book of Daniel, the career of this most infamous of antagonists, the Antichrist, should be well-known. Indeed, many volumes have been written dealing exclusively with the subjects of the false prophet, the beast, and the events of Tribulation. Expanding this chapter further to discuss fully this diabolical personality would take up an entire volume in and of itself and would also defeat the purpose of the Chronology which makes up the latter part of this book. It is there we will confront the beast and his false prophet in considerably greater detail. However, before progressing to the fourth chapter and the third key that reveals the dating of the events that will take place in Nostradamus view of the final age, we will hear what the prophet Daniel and the prophet of Provence have to tell us about the lineage of the beast.

Hercules Cinq

10.27 Through the fifth and greatest Hercules They will come to open the Temple Mount with the hand of war. Once Clement, Julius, and Ascans are subdued, Sword, key, the eagle never experienced such great wrath.

As will be proved in the Chronology, the name "Hercules" is a term Nostradamus reserved for the five most powerful emperors-to-come, the first two being Chiren and Ogmios. The concept is clarified in Quatrain 9.33 and will be discussed a little later on. It is clear from the above stanza that the French seer considered the beast of Revelation as the fifth and final Hercules, the termination point of the imperial succession. He even provides us with the names of the three kings the prophet Daniel says he shall subdue and destroy. The eagle here either symbolizes the Empire or America.

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In the previous section, the Antichrist was introduced, through the eyes of Nostradamus, from several perspectives: Biblical accounts, Arthurian legend, Greek mythology, and Indo-European and Irish epic. A comprehensive analysis of his distant reign will be undertaken in The Chronology which appears in the third section of this book. What cannot be adequately covered in The Chronology, however, is the lineage of the beast. Nostradamus invested a number of enigmatic quatrainssome of which are historicalwith dark clues regarding the ancestral line of this most vile of imperators. Because some of these cannot be presented in a series dedicated to future, unfulfilled predictions, I will touch upon them briefly here. The reader will also appreciate the profile provided earlier in this chapter of the emperor Ogmios, and the four notable ones in general, for they are to be a part of this mysterious fabric of progenitors. There are no records of King Arthur having sired a son other than his incestuous bastard Modred. For that matter, however, there are few historical records of Arthur mab Uthr having ever lived at all, and nothing whatsoever recorded of Modred or his offspring, if any. Notwithstanding, Nostradamus suggests that the Antichrist will be descended from Arthur in a somewhat roundabout fashion at least. He will recognize the ensign of Melusine during the excavation of the true tomb of Arthurwhether through genetic memory or supernatural inspiration is anyone's guess. From the time of King Arthur to the reign of the beast is eighty-five generations (a generation as defined as twenty years). Considering the relatively lower ages of mortality for many of those who lived during the Dark Ages, and indeed, even for those who lived before the mid-20th Century, we should not be surprised to see as many as eighty potential ancestors for the Antichrist or as few as fifty. If Nostradamus concerned himself with each and every one of these individuals, he would have had to devote ten percent of his predictions to them (which he obviously did not). However, he does spotlight several extinct families and mysterious births, all which seem to allude to the eventual procreation of someone of tremendous stature, long-awaited and long dreaded. The Dark Ages yield few clues, family records were not kept, and those that might have been by feudal lords are certainly lost. Nostradamus thrice describes a union between a monk and a nun, both anonymous, who conceive an infernal child. The child is abandoned and left to die, but he survives to sire a brat or two to ensure the eventual incarnation of the awaited destroyer.

Quatrains 5.9, 9.10, 1.95 At the foot of a great demolished arch ... a woman will bear a son, his face and forehead covered with hair. Then through destiny, the Duke escapes death. This child of a monk and nun will be exposed to die by a she-bear, but will be carried off by a boar. Before a monastery the child will be discovered, one of heroic blood and illustrious ancestry.

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The next ancestor of the beast's obscure and convoluted bloodline attains a dubious nobility, appearing sometime during the 1200s AD. The lightning which strikes on the day of his birth is an evil portent not unusual in the writings of Nostradamus.

9.19 In the middle of the Mayenne forest, Sun in Leo, the lightning will fall, The great bastard born of the great one of Maine, That day a point will enter the blood of Fougres.

The Antichrist's progenitors will often assimilate royal or noble blood through bastard births. Their identities safely concealed or cleverly legitimated, often lingering in the background of events, they amass their fortunes and perpetuate extinct bloodlines under different names. It may or may not be a coincidence that many of the families they are born into die out within the space of their own life-spans. In this instance, the great family name of Fougres died out in the late thirteenth century.

8.24 The lieutenant at the entrance to the house, Assaults the great one of Perpignan, Thinking to save himself at the Perthus Pass, He will attempt to deceive the bastard of Lusignan.

In this quatrain we have jumped into the remote future at the time when the Antichrist is about to battle with Mendosus, the King of the South, beneath the Pyrenees mountains ("Junquera" in Quatrain 10.11). Here, the beast is referred to as "the bastard of Lusignan": a distant descendent of the family of that name. The "point" which entered the blood of Lusignan would had to have done so before 1489the year the family name became extinct and its titles claimed by the House of Savoy. From out of the obscurity of the Dark Ages into the thirteenth-century noble family of Fougres and onward to the fifteenth-century House of Lusignan the hidden bloodline of the Antichrist secretly weaves through bastards and adulterines alike. From Britain to France to Italy the unacknowledged forebears are never far from the reins of power, but resist seizing them altogether, for the vesture of the supreme royal office awaits an appointed hour, day, and year. An undocumented baseborn son is credited to Henry IV of Navarre in the late sixteenth century. It is well-known that Henry kept many mistresses, any of which could have produced this mysterious offspring:

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10.55 The shadow upon the reign of Navarre is not true, And will bring to life one strong and illegitimate: The promise of Cambrai is seen to be uncertain, King Orleans will provide a legitimate boundary.

And so it continues: sired by royalty, the child is born of an anonymous woman who is generously, but secretly, supported by the king. The boy grows to adulthood, well off financially, and raises a family in his own right. After a few legitimate generations, a female issue will repeat the cycle again by mating with royalty outside the bounds of matrimony, often under adulterous circumstances. We now arrive in the early twentieth century:

8.75 The father and son will be murdered together, The prefect safe within his pavilion. The mother at Tours will have her belly swollen with a son. A verdure chest with little pieces of paper.

In 1908, King Carlos I of Portugal and his son Louis Philippe were assassinated on the streets of Lisbon by revolutionists. The prefect, Joao Franco, the king's appointed prime minister, survived only to be ousted by Carlos's remaining heir, Manuel II (who abdicated and fled to England two years later). The mother at Tours, however, was not Carlos's wife, Marie-Amelie of Bourbon. There are no records of her bearing a son at that time. Carlos was notorious for his licentiousness and, in all likelihood, the woman pregnant at Tours with his son was one of his many mistresses. Nostradamus implies clues to their identities may one day be found in a "verdure chest" containing many "little pieces of paper." The progeny of this son, whoever they are, have produced an important male or female. If male, he is now the husband or former husband of a princess. If female, she has already married a great prince who will one day be king and will bear or has born him a legitimate heir out of this ancient and ultimately fatal bloodline.

Daniel 8:8-14 The he goat* waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken;** and for it came up four notable ones, towards the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
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And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
* The aforementioned European Empire founded at the conclusion of World War III. ** The death of the great horn, the French leader named Chiren. Logically, if this concerns events that will occur within the next 10 to 16 years, they must be the four children of Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. The "little horn" is the Antichrist, the beast of Revelation. However, the meaning here can be easily misinterpreted. At first glance he would appear to be a son of one of the four notable ones. In actuality "out of one of them" more than likely means that he will be a descendant. Israel or, in some editions, the whole of Palestine. As incredible as it may sound, the "little horn" (the beast) will do battle (or appear to do battle) with some of Gods angels, and he will be victorious over them. These angels may be the fallen angels who are allied to Satan.

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
This can be interpreted several ways. The "prince of the host" (the angels) is the archangel Michael who is mentioned in Daniel 12. If this is correct, the beast may actually do battle with the good angels, succeed in defeating a portion of them, and thus prove to be Michaels match. However, if these are the fallen angels, then the prince is Satan. Being magnified to the prince of the host would then mean that the beast will become empowered by Satan and the "defeat" of the fallen angels a deception for humans. Another interpretation would be that the "little horn" will exalt himself to be as great as Christ Himself, and thus will become Antichrist. Simply stated, the beast will "take away" what is Gods and proc laim himself to be God. Today, the site of the Temple Mount where stands the Dome of the Rock. By this time the Temple of Jerusalem will be rebuilt. The Temple of Mount Zion will be made the sanctuary of the Antichrist where he will sit upon the throne of God.. Fallen angels, posing as beings of light from other worlds, will help the beast enforce his position as a god to be worshipped. The "transgression" is the act of the Antichrist sitting upon the Holy Throne.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The angel is asking how long the beast will be allowed to reign as god before the final wrath of the true God is unleashed. Six years and four months. Since it is believed that the beast will reign for seven years, the last eight months must mark the time of at least some of the plagues mentioned in Revelation, the conflicts that will lead to the battle of Armageddon, and the casting alive of the beast and false prophet into the lake of fire.

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The "little horn" is unlikely to be the son of one of "the four notable ones," but rather a descendant sprung from a new family branch. This premise will be discussed more fully in the Chronology. A number of generations later, the little hornalso called "the beast"is finally born in the late 22nd Century or during the onset of the 23rd Century, and our remarkable prophet is there awaiting his arrival in Quatrain 10.9:

10.9 In the Castle of Figueres on a day of mist, Of an infamous woman will be born a sovereign prince. Surname of Chausses on the ground will make him posthumous, Never once a King so evil in his realm.

The Antichrist is born in a castle on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees of a whore and a French duke from Blois. The father will die before the birth of his son who will posthumously inherit the family name of Chausses. The castle is the former citadel of San Fernando, later a madhouse, and now a prison. Nostradamus also calls the beast "the posthumous one" in some quatrains, not only for the reasons explained in this particular stanza, but because he will be the surviving heir to many extinct families and royal houses. Also, as I mentioned in the previous chapter, he will actually rise from the dead after being assassinated by a bullet through the eye. As line 4 portends, there will never be a king or emperor more thoroughly diabolical than Chausses (whose name means "breeches"), the fifth and final Hercules, the end result of 1,700 years of cuckoldry, incest, bastard births, and legitimate unions. Fortunately for the world, this filius horribilis will reign over his infernal Camelot for only seven years: the end result of a great empire Nostradamus calls Annemarc, the subject of our next section.

A Political Overview of Annemarc One of the most enigmatic features in the writings of Nostradamus concerns a variety of colors he chose to represent certain groups, ranks, religions, or ideologies. Two which often appear together are the rouges and blancs. In many quatrains, the color red appears to be used to represent members of the College of Cardinals, communists, Spaniards, and revolutionaries in general (including the "reds" of the historic French Revolution). It is a quite prolific symbol indeed, and most commentators of this century seem content to rest the case with the above-mentioned interpretations.

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However, there are a number of predictions which implicate "reds," "whites," "grays," "browns," "blacks," and even "greens" in circumstances not easily supported by any historical or modern context. I believe we can go a good distance toward solving this enigma by studying this excerpt from the Epistle to Henry II:

The people shall drive away those that did adhere to the legislators, and it shall seem, from the kingdoms spoiled by the Orientals, that God the Creator has loosed Satan from his infernal prison, to cause to be born the great Dog and Dohan, who shall make so great and abominable a breach in the West, that neither the reds nor the whites, who are without eyes or arms, shall not judge of it, and their power shall be taken away from them.

This section of Nostradamus' missive describes events in Europe during the advent of the Dog and Dohan, a figure whose career closely resembles that of the biblical "Gog, the land of Magog," who is also described in the Epistle to Henry II as "the principal Eastern King." Clearly a future prophecy, this paragraph projects a bleak political picture for Annemarc, the pan-European empire which Nostradamus also calls "the Holy Empire," "the Great Empire," and simply "the Empire." At the time of this prediction, Annemarc will be afflicted by rampant lawlessness and immorality. The reds and whites in this instance are accused of displaying poor judgment and engaging in blatant appeasement in dealing with this new Asian menace. The power that is taken away from them is obviously political. It would appear that whenever red appears in connection with other colors it is intended to represent a political party. But one might also assume that in a future government originally founded on theocratic principals, some political ideologies will most likely fuse with ecclesiastical ones. It has been quite clear since 1995 that previous reports of the death of communism were grossly exaggerated. As a faction in Russia, it wields powerful influence in the Russian Parliament. Even Western European nations, such as Italy and France, discover themselves contending with growingalbeit smallmovements of communist supporters. It has made a comeback in Poland, and continues to dominate China, North Korea, Vietnam, and other nations in the Far East, as well as other countries such as Cuba. I believe that the reds in the above excerpt stand for a European Communist Party, indicating that it will share power with other political groups within the future Council of Annemarc. This indicates that the Empireindeed the worldwill seek to reconcile communism with other diverse ideologies within one political framework: the Parliament or Council. All political parties and religions will have a voice in the Council of Annemarc. Perhaps the communists will seek to uphold the needs of the people, much like the British House of Commons, while the blacks will stand for a new pro-Royalist aristocracy as did the original House of Lords.
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However, communistsand other partieswill at times be perceived by the body politic as troublesome or even dangerous, and purges will become necessary during the occasional power struggles which will ensue. The following quatrain describes a purge which will occur after the election of a pope who will be antagonistic to both communist and royalist doctrines:

10.30 Nephew and blood of the newly-created saint, Through his surname he will sustain the arches and roof. They will be chased, put to death, driven out naked, Both reds and blacks will be converted to green.

This action takes place during the latter 21st Century after the grandnephew of a great, martyred French pontiff himself becomes pope. This verse seems to suggest a shake-up in the government, and is the first mention of a black or green party. The greens, I suspect, will be a left-wing liberal party, although one cannot rule out an Islamic faction, since the color green, like the crescent moon, has come to symbolize the Moslem religion. The whites (republicans) eventually disappear altogether, eclipsed by the reds (communists) and blacks (royalists) much in the same fashion as the Whigs were displaced in the United States by the Republicans and Democrats. It is clear that much of the political corruption which will afflict "the Senate of Toulouse" during the 22nd Century will come from the direction of the Communist Party. The following composite of Nostradamus' verse and prose summarizes some of the burning political and social issues of the AD 2127 - 2189 period:

The Artomiques will hold their Parliament at St. Felix. The king will be angry with Parliament for prohibiting weapons of war. He will have the whole Senate in his hands and will be troubled by a wretched scoundrel. The Senate will sentence the duke to a death long and light. Afterwards the holy temples will be polluted and pillaged by the Senate of Toulouse. Troubled by laws, quarrels, and monopolies, they will wish to renew the massacre. In Toulouse the markets will fall. For the pleasure of a voluptuous edict, Venus will at court be so virtuous, obfuscating Christianity and all the law. Subsequently, there shall rise powers and military hands who shall take from the Church the two swords and leave only the resemblance. The cruel party, wearing long robes will hide sharp daggers beneath, seizing Florence and the place of the two swords. Because of new deeds public blood is shed. To speak the truth they will have closed mouths. The red town will not wish to consent.

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The close link between political offices and ecclesiastical affairs suggests that during this future period of European history the concept of separation of church and state will no longer exist. Indeed, just as in the early days of the Model Parliament of Edward I, churchmen may be actively involved in parliamentary proceedings and may even hold political office in the Senate. It is based on this idea that I suspect that the grays or browns will be made up of a ruling religious elite; but this membership will eventually evolve to include representatives of various faiths, such as the major pagan religions which will follow the fall of Catholicism as well as the so-called Lutherans (Evangelists) who will dominate Christianity near the close of human history. The ultimate dissolution of the Communist Party is marked by the arrival of the beast in a series of predictions in Century 9, headed by the following quatrain:

9.51 Against the reds sects will band together, Fire, waters iron, the cord through peace is undermined, At the point of dying are those who conspire Save one who above all others will destroy the world.

Iron and Clay It is apparent from his writings that Nostradamus believed there would be a great empire for Europe which would commence at the conclusion of World War III and last until the Armageddon. But he also envisioned various political and religious struggles within this empire as well as a confusing series of shifting power centers. Founded in France, the political seat of Annemarc will break up between France, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany, then will be superseded by a reunified Gaul (Belgium and France) which will hold the reign for 156 years. After a fifth global war with the Dog and Dohan, the Empire will be governed by a Swiss-Italian-Gallic triumvirate for seven years, then will face dissolution following the assassination of the Gallic leader and his son. The Holy Empire (no longer truly "holy") will fall under the dominion of the Aquilonian federation discussed previously led by Russia and Germany. Spain and North Africa will compete for control of the Empire with Germany for three years, after which Germany will attain the reins. In the end, under the Antichrist, the Empire will once more revert to Gaul. However, Nostradamus makes no bones about what he considers to be the true "spiritual" seat of the Empire: it is Rome, always. In Quatrain 9.33 he describes Chiren, the first Emperor of Annemarc, as also being the King of Rome:

9.33 Hercules, King of Rome and Annemarc: Of Gaul three times the leader will be so named.
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Italy trembles and the waters of St. Mark, The first over all monarchs to be renown.

There are five different men throughout The Centuries to which the prophet has applied the named Hercules, but only three will come from Gaul: Chiren of France; Philip, the Belgian Gaul (who will be presented and thoroughly examined in the Chronology); and the Antichrist, a Breton who Nostradamus also calls "the Gallic Ogmion." Of the two non-Gallic Supermen, one will be an insular Celt or Briton, the other will come from Germany. The total life-span of this future empire, if we also include its brief Moslem occupation during the Fourth World War, will be somewhere between 236 and 240 years. One might well imagine that an empire such as this, divided at times, with a shifting power center, rivaled only by the greatness and glory of the Roman Empire, would also be mentioned in the Bible. It is, of course, by none other than the prophet Daniel:

Daniel 2:31-44: Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Thou, 0 king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, 0 king...thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. Medo-Persian Empire. Greek Empire. Roman Empire. The future empire of Annemarc.

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The prophecy goes on to describe the "stone cut out without hands" from a mountain as being God's kingdom on earth which will destroy the future empire of iron and clay and replace it forever. The fact that this empire is partly compared to the empire of iron suggests that it will have in it something of the strength and splendor of ancient Rome. The reference to clay, however, also indicates that baser properties will help to make it up, creating an unstable mixture. The kingdom "shall be divided" early on during the reigns of the four notable ones and the ensuing Fourth World War. The fact that the Empire afterward will continue to be "partly strong, and partly broken" indicates a solidarity punctuated by periods of disunity, power shifts, revolution, and civil war. Interestingly enough, when Annemarc is most fragmented, it will be ruled by a leader called Mendosus, whose name in Latin literally means "full of faults." In some respects Rome was like this, its long history periodically punctuated by civil wars, breaking up finally into eastern and western divisions. Likewise, strength and division are said to be a continuous feature of mankind's final world empire. This final realm is also prophesied in the Apocrypha. According to one of the accounts contained within, it will be ruled by twelve different kings in succession, then will be destroyed during the brief reign of "the two feathers" which probably represent the beast and false prophet. Generally speaking, Nostradamus seems to have envisioned a marriage between old and new during the latter age. The sixteenth-century prophet/physician actually appears to feel more at home with the 21st and 22nd centuriesalthough not the 23rdthan he does with the 20th which he designates "a very strange century." A confirmed monarchist, he doubtlessly celebrated his visions heralding a return to autocratic forms of government worldwide, an increased authoritarian role of the Church in society, and the disintegration of large nations into smaller "kingdoms." This latter process has already taken place in the former Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, and may also occur soon in Turkey and Iraq (Armenian Turkey, Kurdistan). With the successful ratification of the Maastricht Treaty history, eleven members of the sixteen-member European Union moved closer toward total political and economic union on January 1, 1999, at which time a single currencythe eurowas implemented. However, Euroland, as this economic entity is now called, must wait until January 2002 before its member-states begin to replace their hard currency with euro notes and coins, completing the process by July 2002. By this time it is also possible that some or all of the abstainerssuch as Great Britain and Swedenwill have joined Euroland. Still, this does not sound at all like the imperial entity envisioned by Nostradamus. Was he simply attempting to describe the powerful political offices of the future from his near-medieval perspective? Will the monarchs and emperors of Annemarc be anything more than medium-term chief executives or presidents-for-life? Or will the character of the coming third World War be such that it will turn our present political conceptions completely upside-down.

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THE THIRD KEY: STRATAGEM FOR THE DATING AND ORDERING OF THE PROPHECIES

A Background of Nostradamus' Beliefs and Practices

Nostradamus stated in a letter to his infant son Cesar that, had he wished to, he could have dated each prediction within the hour and day of election. Indeed, as we have already seen in his letter to Henry II, evidently the prophet was awaiting permission from the king to restore the original dates to each of his quatrains. In Nostradamus' own words: "I could have set down in every quatrain the exact time in which they shall happen, but it would not please everyone, and much less the interpretation of them, till, Sir, your Majesty has granted me full power so to do, that my detractors may have nothing to say against me." Sadly, thanks to the repressive climate of the Inquisition, this permission was never granted. Thus, unable to be truly vindicated to the satisfaction of all, and due to a great deal of romanticization over the centuries by both skeptics and believers alike, much has been made by various commentators about Nostradamus as a master astrologer without peer; a necromancer and dabbler in the black arts; a "New Age" visionary who was well ahead of his time; or, at least by a few, a seductive and errant fraud. However, it is evident from his writings that the French seer held a somewhat low regard for most practitioners of that celestial artastrologywhich was then a science in transition. His letters also reveal a condemnation of the black arts and those things "magical," as well as a genuine and zealous faith in God.
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Astrologyat that time called astronomywas divided into two categories: "judicial," which involved the influence of the stars and planets on the destinies of individuals and of nations, largely entailing the drawing up of nativities (birth charts); and "natural," the forerunner of modern astronomy, dealing with the physical motions of the stars, planets, and luminaries based on meticulous observation with the naked eye and collection, collation, and classification of recorded data. Judicial astrology exists today in the form of newspaper horoscopes, psychic hotlines, and numerous self-help volumes found in libraries and New Age sections of bookstores. Natural astrology is now the science we know today as astronomy. Wishing to become a physician, at the age of 16, Michel de Notredame entered the prestigious University of Montpellier. There, among the many subjects studied, he was taught diagnostic and medicinal astrologya form of the judicial. I make mention of this because it would appear that he could not have avoided the study of astrology even if he had wished to. There was nothing "diabolic" in his motivation or allure to astrology, even though the Christian right are fond of portraying him as a sorcerer and frequently mention Nostradamus' Les Propheties as one of a number of books that should be burned. Nostradamus graduated as a doctor from Montpellier in 1525. There is no question that his education served him well. If for no other reason, history would have recorded him as the most miraculous plague doctor the world had ever known, curing thousands of victims afflicted with Le Charbon which had settled as a chronic pestilence in southern France. However, during an especially vicious outbreak in Agen in 1537, he was unable to save his first wife and two children (whose names are not known) from the same dreadful scourge that had wiped out one third of the population of Europe two centuries earlier. Broken, depressed, he wandered Europe for many years. It was not until 1550, when Dr. de Notredame began penning the prognostications in his famous almanacs, that he Latinized his name to Nostradamus. This move may have been inspired by the Swiss prophet Paracelsus, whose real name was Theophratus Bombastus von Hohenheim. Like Nostradamus, Paracelsus was also a physician-turned-prophet and a contemporary of his, having died in 1541only nine years before the first almanac was published. Nostradamus certainly must have read his work. What exactly placed this healer and highly learned man upon the path of prophetic immortality no one will ever know. There are a number of popular legends which have circulated throughout the ages about how he established his reputation as "the king of the prophets," both in his youth and during the fateful years 1547 to 1550 (it was in 1547 that Nostradamus married his second wife, Ann Ponsart Gemelle). However, a discussion of these "yarns," mostly unverifiable, would serve no purpose here. Needless to say, by 1556 Nostradamus was Salon's greatest celebrity and one of Catherine de Medicis personal oracles. There is no question, as we will discover, that the prophet found it necessary to practice both forms of "astronomy" during his life. Whatever his failings and fortunes as a judicial astrologer, Nostradamus made no secret to King Henry II in his 1558
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epistle which branch of astrology he trusted most or from what book he drew his greatest inspiration:

All these figures are justly fitted by the Sacred Scriptures to the celestial bodies, that is to say, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, and others joined with them, as may be seen more at large in some of my quatrains ... being by astronomic rule and according to the Holy Scriptures, in which I cannot err.

Nostradamus was also a person trapped by his fame. To safeguard his reputation and to preserve his alliances with Catherine de Medicis, the Duke and Duchess of Savoy, and numerous other aristocrats and nobles, it was necessary for him to make prophecies on demand. This inevitably meant resorting to judicial astrology to draw up nativities or to make personalized predictions. It is doubtful that he entirely trusted the veracity of his results since his true prognostic power came in divine visions (so was his claim). Therefore, the fashion of his speech or correspondence was often crabbed, ambiguous, general, or obscurely worded when predicting the outcome of a marriage or advising on the wisdom of some transaction or other special undertaking. A variation of his predicament continues to this day in the persons of certain once-successful prophets whose miserable track records in tabloids, magazines, and talk shows testify to the enormous financial pressure they are under to make predictions on demand while seeking to maintain their credibility among their following (for Nostradamus, total alienation could have led to his being brought before the Inquisition). In Quatrain 6.100, entitled "INCANTATION OF THE LAW AGAINST INEPT CRITICS," Nostradamus damns astrologers (a strong indication that he did not use astrology to forecast his quatrains), mystics, the illiterate and uneducated, and the worshippers of Islam and other non-Christian religions:

6.100 May those who read this verse think upon it deeply, Let the profane and ignorant herd keep away: Let all astrologers, idiots and barbarians stay far off, He who does otherwise, let him be priest to the rite.

In his remarkable 1990 book, The Mask of Nostradamus, the famed illusionist and celebrated skeptic of the supernatural, James Randi (a.k.a. the Amazing Randi), sets out to discredit the French prophet and his predictions.

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Mr. Randi spends much of the book exposing many of the interpreters of Nostradamus, along with contemporaries who favored him, as gullible, mad, or fameseeking charlatans. He also provides us with a valuable history lesson about the superstitious and religiously oppressive environment of the times during which the prophet lived. He throws cold water on some popular interpretations of a carefully selected batch of quatrains, then offers more reasonable theories concerning the meaning behind some of them. (I will confess that I concur with some of what he says.) But as for direct historical or physical evidence that Nostradamus himself was a fraudwhich is Randis intended objectivehe offers us very little, since it is mostly the "true believers" and interpreters of the Seer of Salon whom he rails against. Most of the evidence he supplies concerning the man himself comes in the form of letters discovered in the Bibliotheque Nationale in 1961, and since translated by scholar Jean Dupebe. One example of Nostradamus' alleged fallibility is revealed in a paragraph described (but not quoted) by Randi concerning the testimony of a disgruntled client who feels he has been thoroughly cheated, claiming that every prediction forecast by the famed prophet concerning himself and his family was completely in error. I have to wonder why this particular letter was not quoted. Evidence that Nostradamus occasionally erred when casting horoscopes is not so amazing anyway. As I have already mentioned, this required the use of judicial astrology instead of divine inspiration. Because of his illustrious education, he was obliged to practice it anyway, trapped by his notoriety and pressure to make predictions on demand. Nostradamus would never have risked appealing to God directly to perform prophecy for profit. Ironically, some of the scanty physical evidence Mr. Randi uses to purport fraud ends up vindicating the prophet instead. In one letter a client named Lorenz Tubbe, the representative of a German miner and merchant named Hans Rosenberger, writes: "The events that you predicted [in a previous letter] are only, alas, too true. I am following your advice of perseverance and patience." Mr. Randi suggests that Tubbe is possibly engaging in lip service here to ply more pertinent information from the seer. Elsewhere, Tubbe writes: "I recopied the nativity and have sent it to my master [Rosenberger], indicating to him that you have prepared a commentary of forty chapters. I knew those concerning the mines would please him, given his misfortunes." Later, in another letter, he profusely offers his thanks to Nostradamus, declaring: "Rosenberger's mines, it appears, are prospering." To this Randi has no other reaction than to engage in his other tactic: to avoid giving credit when credit is due by simply changing the subject. In his Preface to the First Edition (Preface to Cesar), Nostradamus leaves his son, Cesar, little room for doubt what his position on the subject of magic actually was:

Furthermore, my son...I caution you especially against the vanity of the more than execrable magic, condemned of yore by the Holy Scriptures and the Canons of the Church, although judicial astrology is exempt from this judgment, for it is by this, together with divine inspiration and revelation, and continual nightly
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watches and calculations [natural astrology] that we have reduced our prophecies to writing. Although this occult Philosophy was not condemned, I did not desire that you should ever be faced with their unbridled promptings. I had at my disposal many volumes which had been hidden for a great many centuries. But dreading what use might be made of them, after reading them I consigned them to the flames. As the fire came to devour them, the flame licking the air shot forth with an unusual brightness, clearer than natural fire. It was like the light of thunderbolts, suddenly illuminating the house, as if in sudden conflagration. Thus, so that you might not be led astray in the future ... I have reduced them to ashes.

We can only guess as to which items from his personal library Nostradamus condemned to incineration, but there is little doubt that some of these included Des Mysteriis Aegyptiorum by Iamblichus, the Corpus Hermeticum, and Michael Psellus' De Demonibus. It is possible that the Prophet of Provence made claims of the use of magical props and other aids to impress his friends and clients. Some of these, according to whichever authority you care to believe, included a special mirror, a water bowl and brass tripod, a golden brazier of fire, a blue amulet, wands, and other assorted objects. It is believed by nearly all commentators that Quatrain 1.1 indicates that the bowl and tripod were used:

1.1 Seated alone at night in secret study Resting alone upon a stool of brass; A slight flame comes out of the solitude Pronouncing that which should not be believed in vain.

A brass stool may resemble a tripod, especially if it has three legs, so some commentators hear echoes of Iamblichus in this verse. I do not see any magic rite involved here. I agree with famed Nostradamian Stewart Robb (1991) that Quatrain 1.2 may have a more mundane meaning attached to it as well:

1.2 With rod in hand put in the middle of the BRANCHES, In the wave he moistens both the limb and the foot: A fear and voice shaking through the sleeves: Splendor divine, the divine is seated nearby.

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According to Robb:

The prophet is ready to capture the divine inspiration on paper. He picks up the pen [the rod], grasps it with his five fingers [the Branches] then dips the pen into the inkwell, creating a tiny wave. He is now ready for the divine afflatus.

I rather suspect Nostradamus at times enjoyed humoring some of his more naive colleagues; all in an effort to maintain an erroneous, romanticized image that they held of him as some sort of wizard dressed in sorcerer's garb burning the midnight oil. In the following letter excerpt there can be little doubt that Nostradamus may have been having a little fun at the expense of one Francois Berard when he wrote:

After nine consecutive nights, from midnight until about four, my brows crowned in laurel, a blue stone on my finger, here is what I got from the good genie on your ring. I grabbed a swans-feather pen (he refused three times the goose-quill) and, at his dictation, as if transported in a poetical madness, I burst into the verses that follow. Then, turned toward our excellent genie, I asked him to teach me, for his faithful Berard, an alchemist without peer, the means of obtaining elicium and gold and for purifying pyrite. Then, the back of my neck ornamented with branches of laurel, and my forehead bound with a crown of laurel and periwinkle, I beseeched my guardian angel in order to obtain these transmutations, to inspire me with truthful oracles.

Nostradamus frequently gives glory to God for his visions, as he does in his Epistle to Henry II (as we have already discovered) and in his Preface to Cesar. He also expresses his conviction that there will be a second coming of Christ and a millennial reign in the Epistle and speaks of the Messiah and a New Jerusalem several times in The Centuries. Most of French society knew him to be a devout Roman Catholic as well as a dedicated monarchist. However, Nostradamus' Christian perspective appears to have been a great deal more sincere and zealous than anyone had ever suspected. His true faith is revealed in a group of letters written to the aforementioned Lorenz Tubbe. Hidden for many years by his son Cesar, the first is dated July 15, 1561, written at Salon:

Here passions that had already been aroused burst into violence between the Papists and the partisans of the true faith. On Holy Friday, a massacre instigated by a fanatical Franciscan was barely avoided. Like many persons suspected of

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Lutheranism, I was obliged to take refuge for two months at Avignon. Finally, the Count de Tende reestablished the peace...

Note also in this excerpt from May 13, 1562, three years before his death, where Nostradamus' sympathies lie. He identifies Lutherans as "Christians" and Catholics as clergy, Hydra, and ignorant priests!

What you tell me from Anvers has upset me completely. What a monstrous barbarity exercised against Christians! We live in an abominable period, and the worst is yet to come....Last February, the Estates General was held in Provence; they spoke mostly of religious questions. The popular Hydra, did everything to prevent evangelical preaching, but nevertheless each city had its own ministers there. At Aix, capitol of Provence and seat of parliament, the cathedral, Saint Sauver, is especially full of ignorant priests .... They used gold to buy the services of a nobleman, a certain Flassans. He used the worst kind of violence against partisans of the Christian religion. The clergy lend a strong hand to this man, who was defending their interests ....

The revelation that Nostradamus was, in fact, a closet Lutheran, an evangelist horrified by the Inquisition and a secret enemy of the "Papists," places this individual in a new light. As a result, his claims that he received his visions directly from God must be taken more seriously now than previously.

On the Reliability of Planetary Alignments

Clearly when the famed prophet converted his predictions from prose to poetry, he removed the dates from the vast majority of them. About five percent of the quatrains still retain astronomical clues indicating the timing of their fulfillment. However, it is difficult to determine whether he intended all of these planetary conjunctions and alignments to represent the exact dating of certain future events or, in other instances, to function only as approximations. After all, a miss of several years would not seem too great to someone plotting the time four, five, or six centuries in advance. Moreover, one can not be certain whether, in some cases, the motions of the planets and stars were observed within the visions themselves or, in other instances, merely plotted afterward to conform to the time-frame revealed. Also, Nostradamus was restricted by form: a four-line stanza written in tetrameter alternating between iambic and dactylic does not allow much space for the sort of detailed information one would expect to find in, for example, a nativity chart, and still retain room enough to describe the events connected to the projected date. Some of these planetary datings
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only provide one with the month and day, but not the year (for example, the Sun twenty degrees in Taurus). Another problem with the astronomical clues is something the French seer could not have possibly considered: the earth's north celestial pole. Since the pole's relationship to the north star is shifting subtly, these celestial projections will become increasingly unreliable. Between 1965 and 2065 this relationship decreases by half of one degree, then begins to increase again. In two thousand years, the pole star will no longer be Polaris, but a star named Alpha Cephei.

Celestial Signposts Let us examine some of the alleged interpretations of Nostradamus' astrological datings as calculated by such prominent authorities as Lee McCann and Christian Wollner to determine the veracity of the prophet's observations. We will discover that some are surprisingly accurate: in one case, to the very year and month. But first we will begin with a dating of events which has proven to be either a remarkable approximation or a remarkable coincidence.

5.25 The Arab Prince, Mars, Sun, Venus, Leo, The reign of the Church by sea will succumb: Towards the Persian very nearly of a million, Turkey, Egypt, the true serpent invades.

According to Lee McCann (1942), the above configuration occurred on August 21, 1987. August 2, 1990, was of course the historic dating of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and intimidation of Saudi Arabia. In April of 1991, Iraqi forces drove nearly a million Kurdish refugees into the mountains of Iran, and another million into the mountains of Turkey. Egypt was involved in the United Nations Arab coalition arranged against Iraq, and Turkey served as a northern base of operations for the United States. Saddam has forgiven neither country for their pro-Western involvement during the war. August 21, 1987 is also significant in another way. On May 17, 1987in a bid to draw the United States into the Iran-Iraq WarSaddam Hussein ordered an Iraqi warplane to fire an Exocet missile at the USS Stark, the resulting explosion claiming 37 American lives ("the reign of the Church [Christian navy] will succumb to the sea"). At the official level, Iraq has always maintained that the attack was accidental. On July 22, the U.S. sent 31 warships into the Persian Gulf to escort Kuwaiti oil tankers. Then on August 26, the United States signed a five-year economic and technical pact with Iraq, tilting its sympathies in the war toward Iraq. From that point on the U.S. fleet was periodically under attack by Iranian gunboats and Iranian missiles. One particularly dramatic exchange took place in October 1987, the same
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day the stock market crashed for the second time this century. Saddam's million-man army was definitely engaged against "the Persian" (Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini) in August, awaiting a massive invasion from Khomeini's million-plus-man army. However, the threatened invasion never materialized. As for the final line, it indicates that relations between Saddam, or his successor, and pro-Western neighbors will reach a critical point sometime in the near future when Iraq launches either a simultaneous invasion of Turkey and Egypt or attacks one and then the other during two separate conflicts. This last line is a further projection that anticipates consequences of the events in the previous lines, a separate prediction which will occur anywhere from a few years to a few decades after the rest of the quatrain has been fulfilled.

To summarize then:

Line 1, either through coincidence or prophetic insight, gives the exact month of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the beginning of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf Crisis. Lines 1 and 2 link the month and yearAugust 1987 with an Arab attack on a Western navy and Western naval commitment at sea. This is accurate. Line 3 predicts that a war between an Arab nation with a million-man army and Iran will be in progress during this conjunction (the Iran-Iraq War, 1980 1988). Line 4 anticipates that the Arab leader or his successor will one day invade Egypt and Turkey. This presentiment is echoed in many other quatrains.

I would have to conclude that lines 1, 2, and 3 successfully predict the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark, the subsequent involvement of the United States in the Iran-Iraq War during its final year, and the Iran-Iraq War itself. The dating is an excellent signpost. The August dating may also reflect confusion on Nostradamus' part between the Iran-Iraq War and the Persian Gulf War. It is possible that he saw the second conflict as an extension of the first. Line 4 awaits fulfillment. Score one for McCann and Nostradamus.

9.73 Into Foix enters blue King Turban And reigns less than a revolution of Saturn, King Turban white to Byzantium's heart is banished, Sun, Mars, Mercury near Aquarius.

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This quatrain appears to describe a conflict between two Moslem leaders over the control of France. The white-turbaned adversary is defeated by a blue-turbaned monarch, then forced to retract his forces eastward to Turkey. Line 2 tells us that Blue King Turban will rule less than a revolution of Saturn (i.e., less than 29 years). Line 4 is dated by McCann as February 18, 1981. Because of the date there is a remote chance that both this verse and Quatrain 2.2 are partly failed prophecies concerning the Iran-Iraq War and its conclusion (see next chapter). Another thing that strikes me about 9.73 is the significance of the month and day. February 18, 1981 is not very far removed from another, more important date in history: February 11, 1979. That day marked the genesis of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. A short time later, in early 1981, the current spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became Iran's first president. Although he usually dons a black turban, at times he can be observed in news video footage wearing a dark blue turban. 1981 was also the year that the most affluent terrorist in the world, Saudi multimillionaire Osama bin Laden, joined fellow Arab mercenaries fighting alongside Afghan soldiers against the invading Soviet army during the 1979-89 war in Afghanistan. He soon commanded 20,000 of these "Afghan Arabs," all of who wore blue turbans as part of their battle uniforms. Now living in Afghanistan as a "guest" of the Taliban government, he and his pan-Arab terrorist network are suspected of a wide range of bombings that have killed and injured U.S. servicemen and American citizens both abroad and within the United States. Bin Laden sometimes wears Nostradamus' symbol of the third antichrist: the blue turban. February 18, 1981 only misses by months the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War. Alternatively, it may closely approximate the date on which the blue-turbaned leader achieved political powerit obviously cannot refer to a day that he will conquer southern France. Then there is the less than 29 year reign augured for the leader in line 2. From the onset of his struggle in 1963 to overthrow the Shah until his death as Iran's paramount spiritual leader in 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini "ruled" for 26 years. Counting from 1981, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, thus far, has reigned as president and supreme spiritual leader of Iran for nineteen years. Saddam Hussein has been president of Iraq since July 1979nearly twenty-one years at this time (June 4, 2000). Let us hope blue does not become his favorite color anytime soon. A revolution of Saturn from July 1979 brings us to January 2009; and from February 1981 to August 2010.

In summary:

Lines 1, 2, and 3 describe a Moslem leader's entry, peaceful or otherwise, into southern France and exile to Turkey for another Moslem leader. Line 4 provides a date that cannot be applied to the action described. However, it could approximate the date during which the blue leader first came to power or the onset of the Iran-Iraq War.

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Aside from providing fuel for some tantalizing speculation as to the identity of Blue King Turban, the planetary dating in this quatrain, as interpreted by McCann, has yet to be proven or dismissed. It is either a quatrain still awaiting fulfillment or a partial failure. John Hogue, with the astrological advice of Dan Oldenburg, in his 1994 book Nostradamus: The New Revelations, appears to have dated the genesis of the Third World War:

9.55 The horrible war which in the occident is prepared, The year ensuing will come the pestilence, So very horrible that young, old, nor beast [survive], Blood, fire, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter in France.

The configuration provided in line 4 is calculated by Oldenburg to next occur in July 2002. It last occurred on February 23, 1998. At this writing (June 27, 2000) it certainly appears possible that the West could find itself entangled in any one of several possible conflicts by 2002, if not before. Tensions between Russia and NATO, which were high during Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia and the Russian air campaign against Chechnya last year, have cooled somewhat. However, with the Balkans a continued hotbed for potential new conflicts, it is unlikely that relations between the two will remain relaxed for long. As for the Middle East, a number of recent developments in that region may trigger a major war by autumn 2001a war which will almost certainly involve Israel, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States, and its staunch ally Great Britain (if not the whole of NATO itself). Events in the Taiwan straits and other hot spots in the Pacific may also threaten to unleash a very dangerous war in the Pacific involving China against the United States and its allies in the region. It is a recurring theme in The Centuries that a possible third World War will have its genesis in the Middle East, the Balkans, and the rest of Eastern Europe. It also very much appears that Russia will align with rogue Moslem states against NATO and the United States. As I have demonstrated in the first chapter, the focal points in the Middle East around which war revolves in many of the quatrains are Persia (Iran), Turkey (Byzantium), Egypt, and Iraq (Mesopotamia, the land between two rivers). The initial focal points in Eastern Europe are Hungary, Pannonia (Hungary and Yugoslavia), Slavonia and Dalmatia (Croatia and Bosnia), Albania, Macedonia, and Greece. Yet another quatrain dated April 1998 by Lee McCann (1941) turned out to be disturbingly accurate:
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4.67 In the year that Saturn and Mars are equally fiery, The air is very dry, a long comet: From secret fires a great place burns with heat. Little rain, hot wind, wars, incursions.

In March 1998 a massive fire broke out in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. The cause of conflagration was believed to have been hot temperatures and dry air caused by El Nio. The fires spread to neighboring Venezuela and by May were raging throughout much of South America and parts of the southern United States, most notably in Florida. It was the worst fire in recorded history. Texas also experienced its worst drought (little rain) since the 1930s. Wars, raids, terrorist attacks, and incursions occurred in many parts of the world then and throughout 1998: in Kosovo, Kashmir, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. However, the comet portended in line 2 never arrived, unless it was a reference to Comet Hale-Bopp which appeared in March and April of 1997. Again we can score a perfect bulls eye for Lee McCann on the dating for this quatrain. Returning to Quatrain 9.55, must we conclude that the West is on a collision course with global war in 2002? The horrible plague of lines 2 and 3, presumably caused by biochemical weapons or even a disease like ebola migrating from Africa and becoming a pandemic would then occur sometime during the ensuing year: 2003. Fortunately for us, according to John Hogue's astrological advisor, the planetary alignment in 9.55 is a recurring one. Two other ominous datings for Quatrain 9.55 is September 2004 and February 2009. Unfortunately, the July 2002 dating happens to concur with the June 21, 2002 date for "a calamitous war under Cancer" calculated by Christian Wollner (see further on). It is noteworthy that astrologer Christian Wollner (1926) actually converges on the exact day that Operation Joint Endeavor beganDecember 2, 1995based on planetary clues in Quatrain 1.51, which reads:

1.51 The chief of Aries, Jupiter and Saturn, Eternal God, what changes! Then after a long century evil times return: France and Italy, what turmoil!

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This quatrain has long been considered by Nostradamus commentators as the harbinger of World War IIIa war that will spread to France and Italy and turn nuclear. This stanza was dated by the Nazi astrologer Norab as set to occur in September 1994. This raises the question that perhaps a third World War has already been in progress for some time. Some world watchers, for example, have recently suggested that the Persian Gulf War never ended and that the West has been engaged in a "cold war" with Saddam since 1991. Since September 1994Norab's choice for the commencement of World War III there have been an unending series of international crises, wars, and acts of terrorism. The following list of events, if all occurring at the same time, would seem like a global war:

1. The bloodless U.S. invasion of Haiti in September 1994. 2. The failed second invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in October 1994. 3. Escalation of the Bosnian conflict following the Summer of Sarajevo ceasefire in the province of Bihac in November 1994. 4. The beginning of the first Russian war in Chechnya on December 11, 1994. 5. Escalation of the Algerian civil conflict in 1995. 6. Deadly sarin and cyanide gas attacks in Tokyo (March 1995) and Yokohama (July 1995). 7. Domestic terrorist bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995. 8. A five-week Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in March/April 1995. 9. Bombings in France by Algerian terrorists throughout 1995. 10. The NATO air war against the Bosnian Serbs in August and September 1995. 11. The war in Chechnya spreads to neighboring Dagestan and Turkey in January 1996. 12. Friction between Turkey and Greece over disputed islets in the Aegean nearly leads to combat between the two countries in January 1996. 13. China conducts war games in the Strait of Taiwan calculated to intimidate the Taiwanese and threatens to launch a nuclear strike on Los Angeles if the United States attempts to intervene (February and March 1996). 14. Israel invades Lebanon and bombs Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre during the sixteenday Operation Grapes of Wrath in April 1996. 15. International terrorists kill Americans in Saudi Arabia (June 1996) and in the U.S. (TWA 800 and Olympic Park Bombing - July 1996). 16. Saddam Hussein invades northern Iraq in August and September 1996. 17. Israelis and Palestinians engaged in armed conflict in Jerusalem in September 1996. 18. After a series of demonstrations and clashes in Serbia, Bulgaria,and Belarus (November/December 1996), Albania plunges into total anarchy, civil war, and chaos in March 1997. 19. Continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and more Hamas bombings destroy the peace process for nineteen months. Western tourists are massacred by terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden in Luxor, Egypt, in November 1997. 20. The Iraqi Weapons Crisis begins in October 1997. A standoff against the United Nations inspections regime begins as Iraq, the U.S., and Russia prepare
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for possible war. The crisis ends on February 23, 1998 with a treaty negotiated by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. 21. In March 1998 rising ethnic tensions lead to warfare in Kosovo. 22. India and Pakistan begin nuclear weapons tests and a conflict in Kashmir in May 1998. 23. U.S. embassies are bombed by Osama bin Ladens terrorist network on August 7, 1998. The U.S. retaliates on August 20 by bombing a chemical weapons facility in Sudan and a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan both funded and operated by bin Laden. 24. Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians reach dangerous levels in September and October 1998 leading to the Wye River Peace Accord. 25. Saddam reneges on the U.N. inspections treaty signed in February, forcing all inspectors out of Iraq on October 31, 1998. New crisis begins. 26. Operation Desert Fox is launched against Iraq by the U.S. and Britain on December 16-19, 1998. Low-level air conflicts follow in the northern and southern no-fly zones and continue at this writing. 27. Operation Allied Force is launched by NATO against Serbia on March 20, 1999. Ethnic clashes and clashes between civilians or militia with NATO peacekeepers follow and continue at this writing. 28. Chechen rebels invade Dagestan and allegedly bomb apartments in Moscow in August 1999. This leads to a Russian operation in Dagestan. 29. The war in Dagestan migrates into Chechnya. Second Russian war in Chechnya begins in September 1999. Conflict continues at this writing. 30. Israel goes to war in Lebanon in February and May 2000. Israeli troops withdraw on May 22. 31. China lays framework for future invasion of Taiwan with its new, white paper policy in February 2000. This includes contingency planning for nuclear attack against the United States. Threats against Taiwan continue at this writing.

Norab again speaks of war by sea coupled with a possible attack against a "Latin" country occurring on or around March 23, 1996: the day the first free democratic presidential election was held in Taiwan:

2.5 When iron [weapons] and letters are enclosed in a fish, Out of it will come one who will then make war: Across the sea a fleet will travel To appear near the Latin shore.

In a somewhat convoluted sense, it appears that Norabs dating was correct. As far as the first half of the stanza is concerned, the war games held by China in the Strait of Taiwan must have appeared so alarming to Nostradamus that he may have believed he was actually witnessing a terrible naval war. As to the second half of the quatrain, I
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need only remind the reader that in early March 1996 a flotilla of boats carrying Cuban Americans, U.S. coast guard cutters, a few American warships and a submarine traveled within a few miles of the Latin-American shore of Cuba to lay wreaths in honour of four Cuban-Americans who were killed when their planes were shot down by Castro in late February. Regarding Quatrain 1.51, Wollner appears to have scored a bull's eye with December 2, 1995: however, only future historians will determine whether the placing of West European, American, and Russian armies into the boiling cauldron of the Balkans was the deciding factor which precipitated a wider, global conflict. After all, historians do not unanimously concur on the beginning of the Second World War. Some believe it was not a world war until the U.S. became involved on December 7, 1941. Others hold to the traditional commencement date of September 1, 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland. Still others cite the Spanish Civil War in 1936 or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 as the true beginning. There are even thosesuch as myselfwho believe that World Wars I and II were the same war separated by an armistice marked by numerous, related, smaller conflicts. Perhaps future historians will one day argue among themselves the true beginning of World War III. Time will tell, but I believe these datings by McCann, Norab, Wollner, and Oldenburg are, at the very least, grim signposts for the arrival of a major East-West war predicted by both Nostradamus and the prophet Daniel. Even if this conflict does not begin until as late as 2002 or 2003, the August 21, 1987, September 1994, December 2, 1995, and the February 23, 1998 datings should be considered very good approximations from a sixteenth-century perspective. However, we should keep in mind the half-degree shift in the earth's north celestial pole as I mentioned earlier: by how much will this affect Nostradamus' projections for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? A factor of five years? Ten years? Maybe twenty? Might some of these never occur at all? Let us set up a partly hypothetical situation: the famed prophet is revealed in a vision that Turkey and Greece will ignite a global war in the Balkans on May 25, 2025. Subsequent visions covering the same general period reveal a severe drought in North Africa, Spain, and Italy and a catastrophic earthquake in India. More visions reveal that Iran will invade the Balkans on October 11, 2026, and Western Europe in July 2027. After the vision, Nostradamus sets out to plot the positions of the stars and planets to determine what conjunctions they will form on or after May 25, 2025, then records the result in one of his quatrains. He does this ignorant of the polar shift that will begin in the mid-twentieth century, unaware of the effect it will have on his astronomical projections. He also has no knowledge of the more gradual, subtle, and irreversible change in the pole's relationship to the North Staran ongoing process that was not known about in his time. Four hundred and forty years later along comes a modern astrologer to unravel this conjunction as it appears in Quatrain 3.3:

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3.3 Mars, Mercury, and the Moon in conjunction, Towards the South extreme drought: At the depth of Asia an earthquake is reported, Corinth [Greece], Ephesus [Turkey] then in perplexity.

Let us now say, quite arbitrarily, that the date this fictitious astrologer arrives at is April 10, 2011. And perhaps this conjunction will occur on April 10, 2011. But if Nostradamus originally calculated that the conjunction was not to occur until May 25, 2025, then obviously the quatrain is going to fail to come true on April 10, 2011. Let us go on to say that on or near May 25, 2025, the scenario presented in Quatrain 3.3 comes to pass, true to Nostradamus' vision; however, Mars, Mercury, and the Moon are not in conjunction. Nostradamus would be correct about the date and the event he originally foresaw, but his astrological description of the date would be tragically in error. (Quatrain 3.3, incidentally, is calculated by Dan Oldenburg to take place on July 2 and August 1, 2000.) This may explain why some of the quatrains containing planetary clues have been very accurate and others quite flawed. We must also consider the interpretive skills of the astrologers themselves. Take the following discrepancy between the findings of Wollner and McCann concerning the following quatrain:

8.49 Saturn in Taurus, Jupiter in Aquarius, Mars in Sagittarius, Sixth of February brings death, Those of Tardaigne to Bruges so great a breach, When at the Red Sea the Barbarian chief is killed.

According to Wollner the first two lines occurred on February 6, 1736. Lee McCann, on the other hand, dated this quatrain February 6, 1971. Since the above prophecy never occurred it would appear that Michel de Notredame was in error (and perhaps he was). But it is equally possible that Wollner and McCann are the ones actually in error.

6.24 Mars and the scepter [Jupiter] will be conjoined, Under Cancer a calamitous war: A short while after a new King will be anointed Who for a long time will pacify the earth.

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Wollner also calculated that the Third World War will be well in progress by June 21, 2002, based on the astronomical data provided in lines 1 and 2 of the above quatrain. Most interpreters have believed this dating to be accurate due to the large plethora of war predictions that happen to have various 1990s conjunctions contained in them. This, at first glance, might appear to be an example of circular reasoning since the validity of at least some of these planetary interpretations may be in question for reasons I have already specified. Also, this planetary configuration is repetitive, occurring again in December 2006 and February 2009. However, Nostradamus provided his readers with additional, more direct, dating evidence.

Literal Dates Fortunately, either through accident or intent, Nostradamus did leave a small number of his quatrains intact with the original dates uncensored or coded. The coded dates either show up as "Council datings"which we will investigate a bit lateror in some of the quatrain numbers themselves. He also boldly revealed the years of certain prophecies in his Preface to Cesar and Epistle to Henry II.

1999 Brings a King of Terror 10.72 In the year 1999, seventh month, From the sky will come a great King of terror. To resuscitate the great King of Angolmois. Before and after Mars reigns by good fortune.
Anagram for Angoumois (a department in southwestern France), Mongolois (the Mongol people, thus China or Russia and China), or Anglomois (either Anglo-Saxons, i.e., England, or the spiritual beings known as Angels).

This is one of the very few instances in which the French prophet supplies an actual date without qualification (i.e., "by the Liturgy"). Dated July 1999, it is the linchpin upon which every Nostradamian has hung the concept of a third World War beginning sometime in the 1990s or, before the appearance of Halley's Comet, in the 1980s. Now nearly a year after the above date given, it has been my opinion that a great King of terror did indeed come from the sky very near the specified time. I always maintained that if this terror were to take the form of war, it would not necessarily have to be nuclear in nature. On March 24, 1999, NATO began a 78-day air assault against Yugoslavia. Pictures of Belgrade and other cities in flames, with fireballs on the horizon lighting up the night sky could be seen on the news virtually every evening. As the operation continued, so too did the casualties and the horrific nature of the bombing.
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Who was the terrible king? If, as in biblical metaphor, it was a nation or group of nations, it would have been NATO itself. If a man, then it was U.S. President Bill Clinton. It was Clintons original intention to keep the air offensive going until well into August or September, thus still being in the process of bombing Serbia from the sky in July 1999. Had he succeeded there is no doubt that history would concur with Nostradamus that he was indeed a great King of terror. However, the operation was cut short and officially ended on June 20, 1999 (the actual bombing was finished on June 9). The May bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the casualty toll it exacted sparked off a separate international crisis that had the three major nuclear powers Russia, China, and the United States at odds. This also gave Russia an opportunity to express its public outrage about what was happening to its Slavic brothers in Serbia. Soon Russia was negotiating with Slobodan Milosevic to find a diplomatic solution. In June, Milosevic finally backed down and agreed to a cease-fire and a NATO-proposed peacekeeping plan. If this is what Nostradamus envisioned, then he was only off by less than a month. However, there is another school of thought that reminds us that the calendar that was in use in Nostradamus day was not our current one, but the Julian calendar. March was the first month in that calendar. Therefore, in Julian reckoning, the seventh month of 1999 would have been September. Quatrain 10.72 is adequately covered from this perspective as well. In September 1999, Vladimir Putin, at that time still Russian Prime Minister, began launching air attacks against Chechnya and its capital city Grozny. The operation was styled after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Thousands of civilians were killed and 300,000 more fled to neighboring Ingushetia and Georgia. By February 2000, Grozny looked like Nagasaki after the atomic bomb was dropped; its cratered terrain, from which an occasional beam or burned-out skeletal structure stood, resembled a lunar landscape. The war continues at this writing (June 26, 2000) in the southern mountains of Chechnyathe same place where the last Chechen conflict played out. Ergo, in Julian reckoning, either the nation of Russia or its soon-to-be-president, Vladimir Putin, was the great King of terror. According to Erika Cheetham (1973, 1984, 1988), Nostradamus calculated the Julian calendar from the vernal equinox. Thus, the first month (in 1999) would have been March 21 to April 21. The seventh would have been September 21 to October 21. This also fits the Putin theory to a tee. Currently there is a new group of Nostradamians attempting to make a case that 1999, seventh month means the year 1999 plus seven months. This leaves us with July 2000, September 2000, or September 20 to October 20, 2000. But who is the great King of Angolmois?

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In the footnote I explain that there are many possible interpretations. If Angoumois is intended, then a new French monarchy will be restored soon. This is born out in many other Nostradamus quatrains, some of which I presented in the first two chapters. On June 30, 2000, four days from today, the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union will fall to France and its president, Jacques Chirac. It will be Chiracs first taste as leader of Europe something I believe will become a more permanent status for him in the near future. Indeed, if a major world crisis occurs before December 31, 2000, and Chirac is perceived as a strong and wise leader, he may be asked to continue as President of the EU indefinitely. I will add that this falls within a reasonable period of time following the great King of terror event in 1999. If Mongolois is intended, then this could be the military threat now posed by China in the wake of the embassy bombing in Belgrade its threat to invade Taiwan and risk war with the United States. Clinton, a great King of terror resurrects the sleeping giant from its slumber by bombing its embassy in Belgrade. Then again, the Mongols are also to be found in Russia and Central Asia. Vladimir Putin could be the great King of the Mongols. Then what is described in line three is Russias response to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia: launching their own horrible air campaign in the Caucasus. Clinton = great King of terror. Putin = great King of the Mongols. The third interpretation, great King of the English could mean that Prince Charles will ascend to the throne within the next two years. The fourth interpretation is religious in nature and could mean that Satan, the great King of the [fallen] Angels will become all-powerful on earth. Or, as some insist, the Second Coming of Christ is soon (King of the Angels). There are also some who point to the book of Revelation who believe this will be the prophesied war in heaven between the archangel Michael (King of the Angels) and Lucifer and his fallen angels. And what of Mars? If Mars is a metaphor for war and not a reference to the ongoing missions to the Red Planet, a third World War may not occur at all anytime soon or, if it does, it may be quickly snuffed out with a minimum of casualties (because Mars is said to reign by good fortune both before and after 1999 and seven months. In addition, line three could be indicating that the hero who will help achieve the end of the war will be Chiren, the new monarch from France (Daniels great horn and first king of Grecia). Since we have been given plentiful reasons for taking the authority of 1999, seventh month seriously, it is necessary for us to determine whether there have been any other literal datings that have been vindicated by historical events. Nostradamus has

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only provided us with a small number of other examples, but what he has provided is more than sufficient.

1792: A Climactic Year

Epistle to Henry II Beginning with that year we shall see a greater persecution against the Christian Church than ever was in Africa, and it shall be in the year 1792 at which people will think it to be a renovation of time.

Two points are mentioned in this prediction: an unprecedented persecution of the clergy in Europein this instance, Nostradamus, native Franceand an official denunciation of anno domini with the declaration that 1792 would be considered the beginning of a new era. Now let us allow history itself to test this prophecy by describing the events that revolve about this most pivotal of years:

1789, Oct. 5, 6. Liberal monarchical constitution. In order to relieve financial distress the ecclesiastical estates were declared public property. The wearing of ecclesiastical costumes was also banned. 1790, July 14. Dissolution of the Clergy. Dissolution of all ecclesiastical orders, excepting those having education and care of the sick for their objects. Civil organization of the clergy. Somewhat less than half of the clerics submitted to the new constitution by taking the required oath, creating a distinction between the pretres assermentes and the pretres refractaires. Clerics who refused to embrace the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were subject to seizure of properties, expulsion from France as citizens, and other forms of persecution. 1792, Sept. 22 was proclaimed the first day of the year one of the French republic ("people will think it to be a renovation of time"). The Revolutionary calendar, dating from the year one of the French Revolution, was created the following year. Abolition of Anno Domini Calendar. 1793, Oct. 20. Defeat of the Vendeans at Chollet. Revolutionary Tribunal at Nantes. The atrocities committed against the town's citizens were variously called the noyades, fusilades, and mariages republicains (republican marriages). Fifteen thousand people were put to death over a period of three months by General Jean Baptists Carrier. Over a thousand males were guillotined; another 1,800 men, women, and children were shot in groups. Hundreds of priests were locked in the bilges of flat-bottomed boats that were
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allowed to drift out into the center of the Loire River and then scuttled. During the cruel games known as "republican marriages," men and womenmonks and nuns includedwere stripped naked and bound, face to face, and thrown into the Loire. The drowning victims died thrashing in the water while soldiers took turns shooting at them.

1793, Nov. 10. Abolition of the worship of God. Cult of Reason. Profanation of the royal sepulchre at St. Denis. 1794, June 13. Festival of the Supreme Being, a cult of which Robespierre was the high-priest, having abolished the Cult of Reason. This mad ceremony was Robespierre's attempt to make amends for the anti-Christian policies carried out by the Reds during the previous four years. 1796, May 15. Napoleon entered Milan, then conquered all Lombardy as far as Mantua. The pope, along with the dukes of Parma, the duke of Modena, and the king of Naples, purchased truces at the price of large sums of money and art treasures. The Vaticanalong with many churches, libraries, and art gallerieswas plundered of its paintings, statues, literature, and priceless artifacts. 1798, Feb. The French Occupation of Rome. Proclamation of the Roman Republic. Captivity of Pope Pius VI. Pius died later in captivity at Valence on August 29, 1799. 1809, July 6. Arrest and imprisonment of Pope Pius VII. Pius was held captive until 1812, then exiled with his clergy to Fontainbleau. The pope remained in exile until May 1815.

As can be seen, 1792, the beginning of the French Republic, ushered in both a new reckoning of time and an era of persecution of Christianity unrivaled in Europe since the time of classical Rome. Together, over 20,000 mostly innocent citizens were executed, several thousand of which were members of the clergy. Many monasteries and churches were also plundered during the Revolution and the ensuing Napoleonic period. Both Popes Pius VI and VII were persecuted by Napoleon, and for a time the Catholic Church was abolished by the emperor. So it would appear that Nostradamus' prophetic pen scored a decisive bull's-eye 237 years into the future of France. More interesting, however, is that he went on to record dates and events only a paragraph later not destined to take place for another 145 years beyond the Reign of Terror!

Conquest of Europe in the 40s Epistle to Henry II

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Venice, after that, with great strength and power will lift up her wings so high that she will think herself to be not much inferior to the strength of ancient Rome. And at that time great Byzantine sails, joined with the Italians by the help and power of Germany, shall hinder them so that those of Crete shall not keep their faith. In the Adriatic there shall be a great discord, what was united shall be put asunder, and what was before a great city shall become a house, including the Pampotan and Mesopotamia of Europe, in 45, and others to 41, 42, and 47. And in that time and those countries the infernal power shall rise against the Church of Jesus Christ. This shall be the second Antichrist....The true vicar and the temporal kings, through their ignorance, shall be seduced by tongues more sharp than any sword in the hands of a madman. The said reign of Antichrist shall not last but till the ending of him who was born at the beginning of that age, and of the other in the city of Lyon, accompanied by the elect of Modena, Fulcy by Ferrara, maintained by the Adriatic, Ligurians, and the proximity of great Sicily.

This incredible narrative begins with the rise of Benito Mussolini in 1919 and describes his efforts to restore the glory of the ancient Roman Empire. Expansion throughout Africa was definitely a part of Mussolini's grand design. Libya was subjugated by Fascist Italy between 1922 and 1930. Mussolini added Ethiopia to his empire, in 1935, and Somalia in 1940. Il Duce also coveted Egypt, but the attempted Italian invasion was foiled by the British at Mersa Matruh in December 1940. Earlier, in 1936, Italy forged an alliance with Nazi Germany and entered the Spanish Civil War on the side of General Francisco Franco in hopes of expanding her influence in southern Europe and Morocco. Mussolini's dictatorship of Italy, beginning as it did eleven years prior to Hitler's, probably impressed the French seer to a greater extent than was perhaps deserved. It is clear from the above excerpt that Nostradamus saw the lands occupied by Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Vichy France as a unified empire. The Byzantines are probably Bulgaria and Romania who, along with Hungary, were also members of the Axis. German airborne forces invaded Crete on May 31, 1941. The great discord in the Adriatic, namely the Greek Campaign in 1940-41 and the Yugoslavian Campaign of 1941, are well-documented events of the Second World War. The great city which became a house to foreign invaders, known also as the "Mesopotamia of Europe" (situated between the Seine and Marne rivers) is Paris which fell to Hitler on June 14, 1940. "Pampotan" is a word Nostradamus consistently applied to Great Britain, and here probably refers to the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz. However, if the Provencal oracle also foresaw Britain's occupation by Nazi forces in this prediction, he was in error. The range of years Nostradamus provides to cover this period is extraordinary: 41 to 47, with 45 representing some special significance. Only 47 appears wrong, unless he is somehow indicating the massive emigrations to Israel preceding her nationhood in 1948 or the Russian Blockade of Berlin. However, Edgar Leoni believes 47 should be read as 37, which would indicate a more accurate range of 37 to 45. The sharptongued madmen were Hitler and Mussolini, and the temporal leaders they seduced
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included Victor Emmanuel III, Paul von Hindenburg, Edward VIII, Henri Philippe Petain, Pierre Laval, Francisco Franco, and Neville Chamberlain. Nostradamus appears to believe this "second Antichrist" to be a European-African empire ruled over by three men. Adolf Hitler is most likely the one "who was born at the beginning of that age" since he was born in 1889, not far from the 20th Century and the first year of the current cycle of the moon. The collaborator who dies in Lyon is Pierre Laval, the last premier of Vichy France. He was executed by firing squad in Lyon in 1945. The "elect of Modena" is Benito Mussolini, designated Prime Minister of Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1922. The office granted him full dictatorial powers until December 21, 1923. On April 6, 1924, Mussolini and the Fascist Party won 65% of the popular vote in the national election, thus guaranteeing the "elect of Modenas" office until he authorized his right to rule by decree for life on January 31, 1926. All the regions named by the prophet of course came under Mussolini's control: Italy was not a unified nation at the time that Nostradamus wrote and would not be until 1861. All three men died the same year, 1945, and, just as Nostradamus stated, the "second Antichrist" passed into the pages of history.

Other Literal Evidence in Brief

3.77 The third climate under Aries comprised, In the year 1727 in October, The King of Persia by those of Egypt captured: Conflict, death, loss: to the cross great opprobrium.

Most commentators feel that this quatrain relates to a peace treaty concluded between Persia and Turkey in October 1727. The treaty followed a Turkish invasion of Ispahan in 1726, which was thwarted by Ashraf Shah, the ruler of Persia, who succeeded Mahmud the Mad in 1725. Although Ashraf was victorious over the Turkish army, to receive recognition from the Sultan he ceded Kurdistan and portions of Azerbaijan and Iraq, which were then incorporated into the Ottoman Empirea situation that brought great opprobrium to Christianity. The Turks are here considered to be "those of Egypt" because Egypt then belonged to the Ottoman Empire. However, I find this phrasing a bit awkward. Would we have called the British "those of America" during our colonial history? Would we call the United States "those of Puerto Rico"? In truth the Egyptians were "those of Turkey" in 1727, not the other way around. In addition, even though Ashraf Shah was conciliatory in handing the captured territories back to Turkey, how can one say that he was "captured" when it was largely Turkish blood that flowed on the battlefield of Ispahan and Turk forces that were ultimately defeated?

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I do not know what the "third climate under Aries" in line 1 is supposed to signify, but I tend to believe this to be a "council dating," which I will be discussing shortly, rather than a literal one. However, if I am in error, I am willing to concede that this verse, despite its flaws, can be considered a near success.

666: The Great Fire of London? 2.51 (Popular translation) The blood of the just to London will make complaint, Burnt by fire in three times twenty and six: The antique lady will topple from her high place, And of the same sect many will be destroyed.

2.51 (My translation) The just blood at London will be at fault, Burnt by firebolts of twenty, three the six [666]: The mad lady falls from her high place, Also several of her sect will be killed.

Supposedly the just blood which was spilled belonged to England's king: Charles I, executed in 1649. Most Nostradamians hold that this is a vision of the Great Fire of London that served as divine punishment for the king's beheading (some seventeen years later). "Three times twenty and six," in the first stanza, does equal 66, representing the year 1666: the year of the great London fire that occurred from September 2nd to the 9th. Unfortunately, de vint trois les six, when translated, means "of twenty, three the six." Line 2, modernized somewhat, would then read burnt by twenty firebolts, three the six. Three the six either means three times six or 18, which is meaningless, or it indicates three sixes, 666, the biblical number of the beast. However, I am reminded that it was common practice in medieval times to drop the thousand from years, thus 1558, for example, would appear as 558. There are many headstones from that time which bear this out. Ergo, 666 may indeed represent 1666. However, "antique," in the context of the woman or "lady," means "antic" as in "eccentric" or "mad" rather than "old." Thus, it is unlikely that St. Paul's Cathedral, which was completely gutted by the fire, is being referred to here. It sounds very much as though the mad woman is an apostate of Hell, possibly the personification of the Whore of Babylon or someone like her, perhaps a high-priestess of the Antichrist of the Apocalypse. If London is destroyed by "twenty firebolts," it is more likely that Nostradamus is describing a nuclear strike on the city against which twenty missiles are launched, making it an overkill sector. Thus it is very difficult to determine if the

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year 1666 is intended in this verse at all or whether the number 666 is signaling the time of Armageddon.

1609: The Election that Wasnt 10.91 The Roman Clergy, in the year 1609, At the head of the year will have an election. One of grey and black from Campania will issue forth, Never was there one so evil.

This prediction serves to remind us that not all future events are fixed. In 1609, Pope Paul V fell seriously ill and was not far from death. However, he miraculously recovered, thus defying whatever fate Nostradamus originally foresaw in store for the papal seat.

The Council Datings Henry C. Roberts (1947) attributed an unusual dating method to the prophet of Provence. Several quatrains which appear in The Centuries contain enigmatic phrases that appear to modify years which are stated in the same lines. Many commentators today still ponder over them, but Roberts is positive that the mysterious phrases refer to the first ecumenical council of the Church: the Council of Nicaea, held in 325 AD. The method he proposed is to simply add 325 to the given year to arrive at the true year for each prophecy's fulfillment. Before exploring this approach, however, I should point out that there were two councils held early in the history of the Church and that both were as equally important. Beside the Council of Nicaea there was another meeting held in 451 AD called the Council of Chalcedon. Thus, it is possible either 325 or 451 need to be added to the mysterious dates.

1995 - 2007: Islamic Extremism Spreads from Algeria, Leading to the Overthrow of the King of Morocco 6.54 At break of day, at second crow of the cock, Those of Tunisia, of Morocco, and of Algeria, By the Arabs the King of Morocco is captured, In the year 1670, by the Liturgy.

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Roberts holds "the Liturgy" to be the Council of Nicaea, but maintains that the year to be added is 1607 (Nostradamus sometimes "chopped" his words to fit the scansion, thus sept could mean seven or seventy). He adds the Council's year of 325 to 1607 and arrives at 1932, the year of the French pacification of Morocco and the start of rebellions in Spanish Morocco against the new republic in Spain. However, despite Morocco's eventual involvement in the Spanish Civil War, there was never a coup, let alone one orchestrated by neighboring Tunisia and Algeria. However, if one reads the year in Quatrain 6.54 as being 1670, added to 325, the events in this stanza hold a far more realistic significance concerning events that began taking place in 1995 and which may lead to the prophecy's fruition within the next few years. The current drive in Algeria by insurgents to establish an Islamic fundamentalist state fashioned after Iran's has been a reality since the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algerian elections held in 1992, but then ruled illegal by the pro-French secular government. Since late 1994, France and Algeria have been plagued by a rash of terrorist bombings linked to the Islamic Salvation Front. Along with a spate of other terrorist incidents in Algeria, including several hijackings, hundreds have been killed or injured over the ensuing months. Budding Islamic groups, sympathetic to the Algerian rebels' cause, are also beginning to emerge in Tunisia and Morocco. In Quatrain 1.73, Nostradamus warns that "Tunisia and Algeria will be stirred up by the Persians [Iranians]." Iran's growing influence in Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as its encouragement of the fundamentalist Algerians and support of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, may be a foretaste of things to come. The pro-Western son of the late Moroccan King Hassan II may have just cause for concern during the next five-to-seven years as the tentacles of Islamic extremism reach out from Tehran and Kabul to grasp the African nations, with Libya's complicity. However, depending on the translation, 1607 or 1670, the next time these inauspicious years will occur, using the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) rather than Nicaea to represent "the Liturgy," is 2058 or 2121. As we will later discover, neither of those years correspond well to the additional evidence that will be presented.

Two Quatrains: 2025 and 2028 - Russia Conquered by the Turko-Tartar Nations

1.49 Long before these events (which appear in 1.48), Those of the East by virtue of the Moon: In the year 1700 will cause great destruction, Subjugating nearly the entire territory of Aquilon. 6.2 In the year 1580, more or less, One will await a very strange century:

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In the year 1703, by heaven's witnesses, Several kingdoms, one to five, will change.

Roberts, using the Council of Nicaea again, dates the events in Quatrain 1.49 as occurring in the year 2025 AD (1700 + 325). Since the crescent moon is the symbol of Islam, the people of the Moon are obviously Moslems. According to Roberts, Aquilon, the land of the North, here representing Russia, will be conquered by the Arabs in the year 2025. That scenario was, of course, interpreted long ago, back when there was a Soviet empire and Iran was a pro-Western monarchy, leaving only the Arab states to fulfill the prediction. Today the Soviet Union is no more, and a vast block of Central Asian, Moslem republics sit at Russia's feet absorbing the incessant propaganda efforts from their large neighbor to the south. Obviously Azerbaijan, Abkhazia, and the enclaves of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Tatarstan also must be considered in the equation. In Quatrain 6.2, 1580 equals 1905 using Roberts' method, which is close enough to 1914 and the outbreak of World War I as far as he is concerned (1905, more or less). I would tend to agree that the 20th Century doubtlessly appeared to be a very strange century indeed to the French seer. Thanks to the trigger phrase, "by heaven's witnesses" or "the heavens are witness" (Nicaea again), the year 1703 becomes 2028, and Mr. Roberts sees the conquest of five nations. Whether he ties those events in with the ones described in Quatrain 1.49 I do not know, but the timing is very close. I feel that the second half of 6.9 describes nothing less than the completion of the Turko-Tartar conquest of Russia along with four of her northern neighbors. However, when dealing with an assertion such as this, historical or statistical support is not possible. Nor can we rely on current developments in the world scene when dealing with events predicted in the more distant future. At best we can project ahead by observing contemporary trends and leadersparticularly leaders with blood heirs who will one day come to power by successionno more than forty to fifty years. Also, such speculation is at best fragmentary. We know, for example, that Charles, Prince of Wales, is destined to be the next King of England and that his eldest son, William, is likely to succeed him. We also know that Prince Phillippe will almost certainly one day succeed Belgium's King Albert II and that the Gadhafi dynasty will probably continue in Libya. One can also speculate that there is a very good chance that one day either Gennady Zyugonov, Alexander Lebed, or Vladimir Zhirinovsky will contest the rule of Vladimir Putin and become the next leader of Russia. But who will succeed them? Who can determine Gerhard Schroeders or Slobodan Milosevic's political successors? Who will lead Italy into the 21st Century? We can also arrive at conclusions, based on computer models, the effects global warming or continued ozone depletion will have on our planet well into the next century. We have a good idea that water will become a scarce human resource in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and southern Asia and that, for example, war could easily break out between Turkey and Iraq if the Turkish government ever decided to cut the flow of water from the Euphrates River. We can speculate that one day
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tensions will increase between the poor countries of the geopolitical South and the opulent nations of the North. But who knows how much longer China or North Korea will remain communist? Will Russia ever take Alaska by force? At what point in the future, if ever, will Western nations turn completely away from Christianity and replace it with another religion and which nations will these be? Who can say when another spectacular comet like 1997s Comet Hale-Bopp will make an appearance or a yet-to-be-discovered asteroid will slam into the earth? One can attempt to use astrology or numerology to determine future events. Thus far, all astrologers I have read have had a rather low batting average despite their best efforts. I have not seen numerological forecasts regarding world events attempted. As I mentioned in an earlier footnote, I have developed a system of numerology I call base 7 numerology and have had an accuracy rate of 81.4% in predicting events for 1996, and 79.6% for 1997, 81.4% again in 1998, and 87.7% in 1999. That means between 21.3% and 13.3% of my predictions may currently be in error and which 21.7% to 13.3 % is anyones guess. It is also possible that my accuracy rate will drop significantly some years and rise during others. Four trial runs are seldom conclusive enough for most scientists to declare Eureka! so I too must remain somewhat skeptical about the system I am using as I face each new year. Visions, whether in conscious or subconscious state are also useful; but they are rarely accompanied by dates. Successful visions I have experienced in dreams have taken anywhere from four months to ten years to come true. Some visions I have experienced since early 1996 are only recently beginning to be fulfilled: like the episodic military crises the U.N., the U.S., and Britain experienced with Iraq (and will again), the great threat of war in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, and the deteriorating relationship between Russia and the U.S. coupled with dangers of a nuclear war or a nuclear arms race. Others may not be fulfilled for many more years or, perhaps, not at all. Such are the limitations of human speculation and divination. Regarding far future prophecies, the next best thing one can do to determine the likelihood of a predicted event coming true is to see if other prophetic evidence exists to support the interpreter's contention. This is especially useful if the evidence is corroborative, that is, from a source other than the prophet being studied. The next best evidence comes from the subject himself who made the prediction first in the form of other prophecies that may shed further light on the portended event. Such evidence would then be considered augmentative, although skeptics would justifiably argue that this would simply be an exercise in circular reasoning. Nevertheless, there is no other way to test the potential veracity of a specific prognostication if it is to occur in the remote future. Obviously, the best evidence, in the absence of contemporary observation, is corroborative. For example, if I wished to test Roberts' theory of the Nicaea datings in 1.49 and 6.2 which led me to believe that Russia will be conquered by her Central Asian neighbors between AD 2025 and 2028, I would wish to see if any corroborative or augmentative evidence exists to help support my contention. Such evidence does:

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Corroborative In 1969, prophet Jeane Dixon predicted that China will be at war with Russia from AD 2020 to 2037. She went on to predict that the following five nations will fall to the invaders by 2037: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

China may not exactly be Kazakhstan or Tajikistan, but the Mongol likeness of the peoples is close enough to take Ms. Dixon's prophecy and Nostradamian Roberts' interpretation seriously. Both concur that the conflict will begin in the 2020s. Their major difference is on when the conquest will be completed: Dixon says 2037; Nostradamus, according to Roberts, indicates 2028. Both also concur that a total of five northern nations will be conquered and occupied by the Asian armies at the terminating year and Jeane Dixon even names them.

Augmentative In Nostradamus' Epistle to Henry II we are told that the "great Empire of Antichrist" will descend upon Europe from "the Attila" (Russia, Siberia, Central Asia, and Mongolia) with the aid of "Xerxes" (ancient Persia, now Iran).

In the context of the Epistle's prophetic chronicle, Nostradamus places the invasion of Europe by the Empire of Antichrist after a major European conflict involving three famous royal brothers, their nephew, leaders from Belgium, upper Germany, Greece, and "barbarians" from North Africa. We are also led to understand that for an indefinite time prior to this a great global war which Nostradamus calls "the First Holocaust" will have already taken place. It is not difficult to deduce that this pasttense first war is probably World War III, a war that he only discusses in his quatrains and never in his prose. Since he indicates that a coming world crisis will have its origins in events that took place before and after July 1999 (Quatrain 10.72), we can deduce that the Asiatic invasion of Europe from the North (World War IV) will occur sometime near the middle of the 21st Century. Now, there are only two ways this Islamic Empire of Antichrist can invade Europe from Russia. One way is if Russia voluntarily becomes an Islamic state and agrees to become a base of operations for Central Asian armies to launch their campaign against Europe. The other is for Russia herself to be conquered and conscripted by these invading forces. Quatrain 1.49 indicates that it will be the latter of these two scenarios, with Russia being attacked by "those of the Moon [Moslems]" in 2025. Quatrain 6.2 informs us that the conquest of Russia and four of her Northern neighbors will be completed in

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the year 2028. Jeane Dixon has Russia locked in a losing battle for its existence as a nation against Oriental forces from 2020 until 2037. The corroborative evidence mounts. The early 16th-century Swiss prophet Paracelsus predicted that Europe will be invaded from the North during the great and fearful eclipse of the sun. Nostradamus concurs in his Epistle: before Europe is invaded by the great Empire of Antichrist, he says that there shall precede a solar eclipse, the most dark and obscure that was since the creation of the world. The 15th-century prophet, Robert Nixon, also known as the Cheshire Idiot, predicted that foreign nations shall invade England with snow on their helmets, and shall bring plague, famine and murder in the skirts of their garments. As I mentioned in Chapter 3, Mother Shipton, the Brahan Seer, and even the Great Pyramid of Cheops forecast this event. What are the chances against Dixon, Nixon, Mother Shipton, Paracelsus, and Nostradamus arriving at the same future scenario independently? Or are we to believe that Jeane Dixon stole a prediction from Nostradamus and that Nostradamus borrowed an idea by Paracelsus and that Paracelsus embellished on oracles recited by the Cheshire Idiot and Mother Shipton? Perhaps they also read the prophecies attributed to Merlin in their spare time besides. It will be nearly thirty years before we will begin to know if their common vision will be vindicated; but I believe we have something of a linchpin here, a means to achieve the breakdown of future history into various eras. And there are many other linchpins to be found as well.

All Roads Lead to 2242 - 2243 According to the Book of Enoch, from the creation of Man until the Kingdom of the Messiah there is to be a period of 7,000 years. However, most Bible scholars believe this period will be only 6,000 years in length, with the seventh millennium reserved for Christ's thousand-year reign on earth. Nostradamus was obviously committed to the older, apocryphal belief since he states that the enemies of Christ would begin to gather strength early in the "seventh millenary" and be ultimately destroyed at the millennium's conclusion in both his Preface to Cesar and Epistle to Henry II. His views also definitely parallel the New Testament's for at the end of his Epistle he describes the final years of human history as being ruled over by the apocalyptic Antichrist then followed by the establishment of Christ's millennial kingdom. Christian fundamentalistsespecially the so-called "televangelists"have been telling us for years that Armageddon and the Second Coming will occur somewhere very close to the vicinity of the year 2000 by adding 6,000 to 4000 BC, the supposed beginning of human civilization. They have concluded this by combining two disparate biblical elements. The first is based on the claim in the Book of Genesis that God created the earth and the heavens in six days then rested on the seventh. The second is a biblical quotation that states that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. If only the universe was so orderly that we could tie things up so neatly in a perfect package with such a simplistic little bow! Do they dare to believe that God keeps the
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same calendar that they do? Indeed, keeping the idea of God's calendar in mind, would it not make more sense to add 6,000 years to the beginning of the Hebrew calendar (3760 BC) rather than to 4000 BC? As we will discover, Nostradamus does something quite similar to that in his Epistle to Henry II. Because, along with most evangelicals, he is a member of the 2000 club, Pat Robertson in 1992 predicted that the Antichrist would come to power in January 1993 during the formation of the European Union and rule for seven years by which time, in early 2000, the Battle of Armageddon would be waged. Since it is now June 28, 2000, I suppose Mr. Robertson has been forced to admit that the beast is in hiding or that Armageddon and the Second Coming are going to arrive a little late. He has no idea how late! The Bible itself, setting aside Nostradamus for the moment, contains a great deal of unfulfilled prophecy. Some of it, such as Daniel's future chronology that begins during a coming war between Iran and the West, is multi-generational in scope and will likely take decades, if not centuries, to reach completion. Ezekiel's Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal, has yet to appear to terrorize the world in yet another conflict. Jeremiah's King of Babylon may or may not be in power; however, a major war in the Middle East leading to the total immolation of Iraq is at best somewhere on the horizon. Regarding the Book of Revelation we have yet to proceed from the time of the Four Horsemen to the great earthquake of the sixth seal. Only after that will the seventh seal be opened to begin the age of the seven trumpetsand it is not until the seventh trumpet is sounded that the seven-year era of Tribulation will begin. When will human history end and a new, messianic age begin? No one knows for certain. However, the premise of this book revolves around what Nostradamusthe most accurate seer since the time of the biblical prophets believed about that time and our time and all that will transpire between the two. Although he definitely held an opinion on the subject, whether it will prove to be correct is not something anyone, including myself, can guarantee. The best that I can do is to look into the mind of the prophet, based on the evidence, and offer the world the view I deduce he held of future historya view which I believe has thus far been only partly understood by centuries of interpreters. Nostradamus told his son, Cesar, that seven thousand years would pass between the time of Man's creation until the Second Coming of Christ. In Chapter 2, which dealt with the Epistle to Henry II, I presented two different sections wherein the prophet provided the data needed to arrive at a date of origination to which these 7,000 years could be added in order to determine the terminal year of human history: the time of Armageddon. In one paragraph, by adding up the numbers provided by Nostradamus, equaling the years elapsed from Adam to Christ, we arrived at either the year 4757 or 4758 BC. In another paragraph, where the sum (4092) was not equal to the year of creation which the prophet gave, 4173 BC, we determined that this was a deliberately inaccurate date presented to confuse the Inquisition and to cast doubt on his mental faculties to all those who would desire to cause him harm. He further confuses the arithmetic in that section by stating that some of the years being added are solar and others lunar and casting doubt on how many there are of each.

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Thus, by adding 7,000 to these creation dates, he offers three possible years for Armageddon to take place: 2242 - 2243 AD, 2827 AD, or 2908 AD. However, to those with the wisdom to check the clues in his quatrains, it becomes obvious which of the three he held to be correct. In his Epistle to Henry II, Nostradamus tells the king that, following the reign of the Antichrist and his slaughter of the Innocents, much of the worldespecially in the Northwill be buried by a monstrous deluge for many years. Indeed, it would appear that Northern Europe, like Atlantis, will remain permanently submerged. Concurrent with this partial global "cleansing," during which most of mankind's knowledge and technology will be wiped out, will be the establishment of Christ's kingdom in the Middle East, a kingdom that will soon become an empire over those nations not destroyed by fire and flood. Nostradamus establishes a dating for when the fiery Armageddon and then the Deluge will occur:

1.62 What a great lossalas!there will be to letters Before the cycle of the Moon is complete: Fire, a great deluge, by more ignorant rulers, How long a century before it is seen to be restored.

According to Roussat the last cycle of the moon ran from 1535 to 1889. The current one will end in the year 2243. Note that in line 3 the world is first punished by fire (Armageddon), then cleansed by water (great deluge). By using information contained in Quatrain 1.17, I have deduced that the great deluge will last for twenty-seven years, not subsiding until the year 2269. I will explain this calculation near the end of the Chronology. The end of the current lunar cycle (2243) is mentioned again in the following stanza describing a New Jerusalem and a New Israel:

3.97 A new law will occupy a new land In Syria, Judea, and Palestine: The great barbarian empire is destroyed Before the cycle of the Moon is resolved.

It seems that one can not escape this pivotal period (2242 - 2243), not even in Quatrain 1.56:

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1.56 Sooner and later you will see great changes, Extreme horrors and vindictiveness: For so the moon is conducted by its angel, The heavens draw near to the Balance [Libra].

According to most astrologers, this represents the transit of Pluto in the constellation Libra. The next time this development occurs will be in AD 2231 - 2243. Interestingly enough, if we subtract 1555, the year Nostradamus first published The Centuries, from 3797 AD, the year he tells his infant son Cesar the world will be physically destroyed, we arrive at the number 2242. If we add the year of the Council of Chalcedon, 451 AD, to 1792, the year of the Common Advent mentioned in the Preface, we again arrive at the year 2242. All of this is only the beginning. Nostradamian Jean-Charles de Fontbrune uses 2242, of all things, to "prove" through a convoluted and devious mathematical scheme, that Armageddon will occur in the year 1999. Stewart Robb stumbles on the figure calculating the odds against Nostradamus making a lucky guess concerning any year from 1555 to 3797. John Hogue states that the Age of Aquarius will begin to dominate human affairs at approximately 2250, based on astrological evidence and passages from the Preface to Cesar. If all of this is not compelling enough, now we return again to the Hebrew calendar. If we take the 6,000 years the Evangelicals insist on adding to the archeological creation (4000 BC) and instead add them to the first year of the Hebrew calendar (3760 BC) we get the year 2240 AD. The current year in anno domini is 1998; however, in Hebrew it is the year 5758. 2240 AD happens to be the year 6000 in Hebrew. In 1508, the Abbot Johannes Trithemius, who claimed to communicate with angelic beings, was revealed twenty-one "angel ages" of 354 years and four months each which he contended broke up the whole of human history from the Creation until the end of time. According to Trithemius, the first angel age, which began with the Creation, was presided over by the angel Orisiel (the god Saturn in Roman mythology, as it turns out). The final age, the Age of Michael (Apollo), is scheduled to end in 7441 Anno Mundi which is 2233 AD. So it would appear, based on the above information, that sometime between 2233 and 2250 humanity will witness the utter destruction of his civilization and the painful, purifying rebirth of the planet by the returned Messiah. Nostradamus seems most insistent on the years 2242 and 2243. However, my methodology is far from complete. We must, for now, treat 2242 AD as merely another linchpin in our ordering of eventslike the year 2025, for example. We must next arrive at other "red banner" years in our effort to break down future history into various periods. Before doing so, let us briefly summarize our linchpins:

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1999: an important year in the coming world crisis. Nostradamus scores high points with his literal dates, as I have demonstrated in this chapter. Quatrain 10.72 must be taken seriously. In context, every astrological reference that gives us a date in the 1990s and early 2000s, if not exact, is at least a close approximation. Thus, the following quatrains are probably accurate: 1.51 (September 1994 - December 2, 1995 ethnic hatred in the Balkans and elsewhere involve the major powers, setting the stage for a future mega-ethnic conflict in the early 21st century); 9.55 (February 23, 1998the West prepares the way for a dangerous world crisis); 2.5 (March 23, 1996friction between Cuba and the United States as well as Chinese war games in the Strait of Taiwan. Current tensions with China may lead to a full-scale war in the Pacific). The following quatrains may also be valid: 1.16 (December 1999wars increase in number as in Chechnya again, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Ethiopia-Eritea, Israel and Lebanon, etc.); 6.24 (June 21, 2002a true third World War begins). 2025 - 2028 - 2037: Russia invaded by the Central Asian republics. Some intriguing corroborative evidence seems to substantiate the dates. Considerable corroborative and augmentative evidence supports the event and the ensuing Moslem invasion of Europe from the North. 2242 - 2243: Armageddon and the Second Coming. It is clear from an overwhelming wealth of evidence that Nostradamus must have believed this to be true. There is also strong support for this view by numerous other sources.

Confirming the Evidence A prophet can only be vindicated if his predictions are fulfilled to the satisfaction of all concerned. Until that time, the only thing that will support a prophecy is evidence and the only thing that will support prophetic evidence is more evidence. Since we have established 2242 as the terminating point of human history, let us see what additional evidence we can uncover to confirm this contention by working backward from it with other information at our disposal. Most Bible scholars call the last period of human history "the Tribulation" and believe that it will last for seven years. Some believe that the Antichrist (or "the beast" as he is called in Revelation) will rule this entire period even though the Bible quite positively states that his reign will last only forty-two months. Nostradamus tells us in his Epistle to Henry II that there will be plenty of woe to go around before the infernal prince, comes to power, principally from two lesser antichrists from the North and the South who will be locked in perpetual struggle. Then the Northern king's ineffectual successor will govern for twenty months during a time of great civil turbulence, continued global warfare between North and South, and a peculiar variety of space-born disasters. This last leader before the Antichrist will, in fact, be killed by strange celestial storms.

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If we subtract the seven years of Tribulation from 2242 we arrive at the year 2235. Now, for the sake of consistency, we must see if we can find a quatrain that echoes any of these events which can also be dated to this period.

4.33 Jupiter joined more to Venus than the Moon, Appearing in a white plenitude: Venus hidden under the whiteness of Neptune Mars struck by the engraved scepter [Jupiter].

It is an astronomical fact that the orbit of Pluto is so eccentric that it crosses the path of Neptune. Pluto has been inside Neptune's orbit since 1989 and will continue to be until 1998. This occurs every 247.7 years during Pluto's perihelion. The next time this takes place it will be in the year 2236. It is indicated here that Neptune's magnitude will exceed that of Venus, which could only happen if a collision with Pluto were to knock it closer to the sun and place it inside Jupiter's orbit. Such an event would wreak catastrophe throughout the outer solar system. In the final line Nostradamus foresees a collision or close encounter between Mars and Jupiter, deflecting the red planet on a dangerous path toward the earth. In Worlds in Collision, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky discusses the possibility that Mars may have already had a close encounter with the earth about 747 BC during the founding of Rome. Accompanying phenomena included terrifying electrical storms, meteor storms, a displacement of the earth's polar axis, as well as spectacular distortions of both Mars' and Earth's atmospheres. According to Velikovsky, Mars was worshipped as the principal deity in ancient Rome from its founding until long after 747 BC. Many other cultures of that time also engaged in elaborate Mars worship such as the Assyrians who worshipped it under the name of Nergal. Does Nostradamus foresee history repeating itself a short time after 2236 AD with another near collision with Mars attending the foundation of a new Rome during the Age of Tribulation? Such an event could cause the strange electrical storm that kills the Antichrist's predecessor near Dreux, France in Quatrain 9.57. According to the Bible the Time of Jacob's Trouble will occur during the last 49 years of human history. This period is also referred to by the modern prophet Curtis Gibson as the "Night of Antichrist." Moving backwards through the major prose prophecy in the Epistle to Henry II, we find that prior to Tribulation there will be an era of NorthSouth conflicts concurrent with the duumviral reign in Europe by the Lords of Aquilon. Preceding this is to be a horrible war unleashed by the great Dog and Doham, whom we have determined to be none other than Gog, the land of Magog. If we subtract 49 years from 2242 AD we arrive at the year 2193. So, we search the quatrains:

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2.48 The great army will pass over the mountains, Saturn in Sagittarius, Mars moving into Pisces: Venom hidden under the heads of donkeys, Their chief is hung by the warlord's son.

According to Wollner the above quatrain is dated by the planets as July 13, 2193. Gog's initial progress would be to cross over the Kazakh Urals from his Tartar seat, then consolidate control throughout southern Russia and the Caucasus. Biological or chemical agents will be fastened beneath the heads of donkeys used to transport supplies over the rugged mountain terrain. The chief who is later executed by Gog's son is probably the Tartar captain or general. By subtracting 49 years from 2242 AD we arrived at the year 2193 and now we have a quatrain that is actually dated 2193a match so precise it is almost frightening! But is it possible to determine the end of Gog's war with any degree of certainty? Let us attempt to break down what we know. If we subtract the 3 years of the beast's reign from 2242 we arrive at either the year 2238 or 2239, depending on the month Armageddon occurs. For the sake of argument we will say that it will occur in the early spring, not far from Easter. If along with the beast's rule we also subtract his predecessor's twenty month reign from 2242 we get late 2236 AD. Before this, Nostradamus claims that the King of the South will compete with the King of the North, holding much of Europe in his bloody grasp for three years before losing most of his acquisitions during a sudden massive assault from the North. Three subtracted from 2236 is 2233 AD. Until that time the surviving Aquilonian sovereign will rule Europe for an unspecified period. Before the death of his Russian co-regent, the two together will control Europe and persecute Christianity for eleven years. However, without a clue as to the length of the surviving Northern king's reign, it is impossible to determine how much time should be subtracted from 2233. Nevertheless, we will at least subtract the eleven years of the Northern duumvirate, keeping in mind that there is still an unquantified x sitting in the wings. Without a value for x, the difference (2222) does not represent the year beginning the reign of the Lords of Aquilon, but does place it somewhere within the period. We have yet another figure provided us by the prophet: a renewed seven-year period during which a Western triumvirate will rule Europe. It will immediately precede the rule of the Northern monarchs. To bring ourselves closer to the 2193 dating that represents the beginning of Gog's military campaigns, we will subtract 7 from 2222 to arrive at a figure of 2215. Again, the number 2215 does not necessarily represent a date because we still have the value of x to contend with. The Epistle to Henry II offers us nothing more for us to pin a date on, so we must next consult the quatrains in The Centuries yet again.

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It makes sense to conclude that since Gog's wars begin in the year 2193 and that one of the two post-war governments will be in control of Europe in 2215, that the end of World War V must occur somewhere between 2193 and 2215: probably sometime during the first decade of the 23rd Century. It takes much detective work, but persistence pays off when we come across Quatrain 3.56:

3.56 Montauban, Nimes, Avignon, and Beziers, Pestilence, lightning, and hail at the end of the War: At the bridge of Paris, the wall of Lyon, Montpellier, Since six hundred and seven twenty-three pairs.

The complicated last line is interpreted by Edgar Leoni (1961) as a mathematical calculation for the year 2208 AD. We are not told what war is coming to an end, but, since the year fits the context of the other events we have been discussing from the Epistle to Henry II, it is most likely that the war ending in line 2 is the global conflict begun by the Mongol Khan. Both Ezekiel and Nostradamus state that many cities throughout the world will be depopulated by fire, hail, and plague at the conclusion of Gog's and the Dog and Dohans war. Thus, it appears that the Age of Gog will begin in 2193 and end in 2208. We also now have a value for x: it is 7. Thus far, our calculations chart for the last 49 years of historythe Night of Antichristlooks like this:

Armageddon Reign of the beast End of the third Northern king's rule Reign of the third Northern king Defeat of the King of the South and sudden death of the second Lord of Aquilon King of the South captures much of Europe End of the Northern king's undisputed reign over the Empire Reign of the surviving King of the North Death of the principal Lord of Aquilon and an end of the Northern Duumvirate Reign of the two Lords of Aquilon End of the renewed Western Triumvirate Rule of the Western Triumvirate renewed

2242 - 4 (3.5) 2238 - 2 (1.7) 2236 -3 2233 - 7 (x) 2226 - 11 2215 -7 2208 - 15 2193
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for another seven years End of World War V (War of Gog) Duration of Gog's war Age of Gog begins

We can also determine from the above chart that the first Western Triumvirate will be formed in the year 2201 (2208 minus 7 equals 2201). Prior to the appearance of Gog, Nostradamus predicts a new pagan age will be ushered in after a brief period of religious conflicts and revolution. This era will also be marked by tremendous debauchery and the collapse of the Catholic Church. Like the Republicans of the French Revolution, the people of Europe will attempt to mark the onset of this age with a new calendar. Although we are not given any time windows or other clues to calculate the beginning of this pagan era, were we to seek the solution in the quatrains, we would expect to find it somewhere in the early or middle 22nd Century. So we search The Centuries:

9.72 Again the holy temples will be polluted And pillaged by the Senate of Toulouse, Saturn two three cycles revolved, In April, May, people of a new leaven.

According to Roberts, this verse is dated 2150 AD by the cycles of Saturn. In his Preface to Cesar, Nostradamus discusses the exalted cycles of Saturn and the significance of 177-year periods (6 times a cycle of Saturn, 29 years, equals 177). Here, Roberts adds two such grand cycles to the date of the beginning of the Directory and the Napoleonic era (1795/1796). 1796 plus 177 plus 177 equals 2150 AD. Corroborative evidence also exists confirming the downfall of the Catholic Church and the onset of a new era marked by humanism, paganism, magic, and various forms of group consciousness around the year 2150. Astrologer Robert de Luce calculates that the cusp of the Aquarian Agean age to be marked by increased humanism, exotic forms of mysticism, the exchanging of Christian values for pagan, and the exaltation of science and free lovewill supersede the current Piscine Age during the year 2157. This is very close to Roberts' calculation. The Abbot Trithemius calculates that magic and sorcery will begin to emerge as a craft that will complement science around the year 2115. Since his angel ages appear to be at variance from Nostradamus' grand lunar cycles by a factor of ten years, the actual date magic debuts as a major force in everyday life may be closer to 2125 AD. Nostradamus describes his version of the Aquarian Age thusly:

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To the ancient branch long barren [the resurrected French line of kings] will proceed one who shall deliver the people of the world from a meek and voluntary slavery; putting themselves under the protection of Mars, restoring Jupiter all his honors and dignities .... Then shall the impurities and abominations be objected with great shame, and made manifest to the darkness of the veiled light, and the chief men of the Church shall be put back from the love of God and many of them shall apostatize from the true faith. Of the three sects, Pagan, Catholic, and Mahometan, that which is middlemost, by the actions of its worshippers, shall be thrown into ruins ... by means of the poor in spirit, who by madness elevated shall, through libidinous luxury, commit adultery.

What follows next in the Epistle is the advent of the "great Dog and Dohan" (Gog, the land of Magog). Therefore, we have thus far confirmed that the time limits of the Aquarian Revolution will occur between AD 2150 and 2193. But what of future history preceding 2150? Before the onset of the Aquarian Age, which paves the way for the malevolent 49-year Night of Antichrist, Nostradamus describes a short period of religious discord and civil insurrection. This is preceded by a sour peace governed by persons reminiscent of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Prior to this occurs the Great Peace, a golden age that will last for either 57 or 75 years. This follows the conclusion of World War IV. According to psychic Jeane Dixon (1969) this war will commence in 2020 between forces allied to China and Russia, leading to an Asian conquest of Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark by 2037. Earlier I discussed Quatrain 1.49 where Henry C. Roberts dated an Asian Islamic invasion of Russia as occurring in 2025. In Quatrain 6.2, Nostradamus also describes the conquest of five Northern kingdoms the same number of countries predicted by Jeane Dixon. However, unlike Ms. Dixon who dates this event as happening in the year 2037, Roberts calculates the year as 2028. Perhaps Finland and Scandinavia will ally with Russia against the Moslem menace in that year. Ms. Dixon goes on to say that an Arab antichrist will grow influential in the West and involve America and Western Europe in a global war against China and Asian-controlled Russia in the late 2030s. As I mentioned earlier, Nostradamus, Paracelsus, and Robert Nixon all foresaw an invasion of Europe from the North by Asian and Russian forces. Mother Shipton identified Turkestan ("the Land of the Moon") as the place from which a terrible antichrist would come forth and conquer England. In 1665, Coineach Odhar, also known as the Brahan Seer, described a time when Scotland would be depopulated by a strange barbaric army from the North and the extermination of indigenous wildlife by horrid black rains. However, Nostradamus identifies the enemy hordes as originating in the former Mongol lands of Attila the Hun that, in modern terms, would comprise Central Asia, Siberia, and Mongolia. I conclude that Jeane Dixon evidently confused the Red Chinese with these Turko-Tartar people. It is most certainly an understandable confusion considering the geopolitical state of affairs in the late 1960s, the time during which she experienced her vision.

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If a fourth global war is to begin with Central Asia, Iran, and Russia facing off against the West and the Arabs in the late 2030s, one might expect to see signs of a resolution in the 2040s or 2050s, if such signs exist, and they do:

2.65 In the feeble lists great calamity Throughout the Hesperides [America] and Insubria [Italy]: Fire in the ship, pestilence and captivity, Mercury in Sagittarius, Saturn warning.

Dr. Christian Wollner (1926) dates this stanza by the planets as December 7, 2044. It appears that the Turko-Russian conquest of the West will be completed with horrendous results. But this is not the end of the war. Nostradamus tells us that Europe will be liberated by Christian forces "proceeding from the 48th degree," led by a Gallic leader from the 50th degree of latitude, and that this "Empire of Antichrist" will be utterly vanquished. When? We would seek a date in the late 2040s or early 2050s. I have already expressed my dissatisfaction with the widely accepted interpretation of Quatrain 3.77. Dated October 1727, it is claimed that it deals with an obscure treaty negotiated between the Ottoman Empire and Persia. But I have serious problems accepting the Turks as "those of Egypt" or Ashraf Shah's defeat of the Turks at Ispahan as the Turkish capture of the "King of Persia." Let us instead take this quatrain at its word: one day Egypt will conquer Iran. Since this has never occurred to my knowledge since the Provencal oracle's time, it must be a prophecy still left for the future. Following Henry C. Roberts lead and treating this as a Council of Nicaea dating, we add 325 to 1727. The result is 2052 AD. This is consistent with the fact that both Jeane Dixon and Nostradamus consider the Arabs (and therefore Egypt) as allies of the West during the Fourth World War. AD 2052 is also equal to 6000 Year of the World, a reckoning used by ancient historians. If 2052 is the year during which World War IV ends, it is also the year during which the Great Peace begins. The seer of Salon provides us with the length of this future golden age in the following verse:

10.89 From brick to marble will the walls be changed Fifty-seven pacific years, Joy to humankind, the aqueduct reopened, Health, much fruit, joy, and honeyed times.

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According to some interpreters, this golden age will last 75 years rather than 57. Again, if any corroboration exists, it would be helpful to use it. According to Max Toth (1979) and his analysis of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, a period of great peace, materialistic progress, and spiritual expansion will begin in 2055 AD and last until 2115 ADa length of sixty years. The onset 2055is indeed close to the 2052 dating I arrived at. The length of the peace60 years is also very close to the 57-year era given by Nostradamus. Therefore, one has the option of accepting either the Pyramid prophecy or the prediction of Quatrain 10.89 since they are near enough. I have chosen to mark the parameters of "the great peace," as it is called in the Epistle to Henry II, as AD 2052 - 2109. From 2109 to 2150 the peace will sour and darken leading to wars of religion and civil insurrection, finally culminating in the great Aquarian Revolution and ensuing pagan peace. If the West is to be locked in conflict with Russia, Central Asia, and Iran in the late 2030s and early 2040s, what will be the state of affairs in Europe and America prior to this global holocaust? Moving backwards through the Epistle we know that a war in Europe will be in progress sometime during the Turko-Russian invasion. We are told that a French civil war will ignite the European conflict, a war that will have been started by three powerful brothers of British descent. However, we do not know exactly when this civil struggle will begin, only that it will begin while Central Asia is at war with Russia. It could begin in 2025, 2030, or even 2035. What we do know is that it is over by 2037, leaving Europe in a weakened and vulnerable state. Nevertheless, knowing the parameters of the Russian-Central Asian aspect of the war, we can say that World War IV will begin in 2025 and last until 2052: a period of twenty-seven years. This is born out in Quatrain 8.77:

8.77 Antichrist three very soon annihilated, Twenty-seven years of blood endures his war. The heretics dead, captive, exiled. Blood, human bodies, water, red hail on the earth.

Since the main prophetic chronology of the Epistle to Henry II begins with the joint rule of Europe by the aforementioned three brothers (and their sister's only son), we must turn to what we know from the quatrains to determine previous events. We know that World War III will likely begin sometime around June 2002 but should definitely be over by 2007 or no later than 2009-2010 according to Wollner's astrological analysis of Quatrain 6.24 and clues contained in Quatrain 5.78 regarding the supposed U.S.-Russian alliance ending after "thirteen years" (1993-2006?). This is also supported by the Kali Yuga World Cycles that declare that a violent cycle of wars will begin during the 1996 - 2006 period. According to Nostradamus a great French leader named Chiren, with the help of Russia, will destroy Iraq and defeat Iran and its allies near the end of the war (2009?) and ultimately vanquish North African armies from Italy a short time later (2010-2012?).

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The prophet Daniel concurs that a "king of the west" or "great horn" will crush Persian and Median invaders during the "latter days." He also says that this great horn will grow mighty and die a short time later, and be succeeded by "four notable ones": the same four children who appear at the beginning of Nostradamus' prophetic chronicle in the Epistle. Therefore, 2010 - 2030 or 2010 - 2035 may represent a twenty- year or twenty-five- year armistice for Europe, despite a 12-year conflict between neighbouring Russia and Central Asia. This would be analagous to Europe's situation in the 1920s and 1930s, despite Japan's conflicts in the Pacific. For Europe, at least, a substantial lull will be enjoyed between the next two world wars. As to the Third World War itselfreferred to in passing by Nostradamus as "the First Holocaust" in the Epistleit is left for us to piece together what clues exist in the quatrains, keeping one eye on the news media and the other on the works of Edgar Cayce, Bible prophecy, 20th-Century psychics such as Simon Alexander and Cheiro, and even the prophecies of the Hopi Indians. For the events concerning the years 2001 to 2006 no commentator can be absolutely certain. For reasons only the great physician, astrologer, and prophet from France could possibly have known, he has left us to puzzle out the next six or seven years while giving us a detailed, blow by blow account of everything that will happen from sometime in the 2009 - 2016 period until the year 2243. Perhaps this means that it is still within our power to control the events of the next several years, and, if war and catastrophe must come, they need not be as severe as the other horrors written in stone for the 21st Century and beyond.
If there is any credence to the Mayan notion that 2012 will be the year that end times begin, then that will be the year.

One thing is certainand of this both Nostradamus and the prophet Daniel agreewe cross our Rubicon the day three strategic regions of the world become embroiled in war: the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and the Balkans. At that time Iran, however peaceful its intentions may seem now, will muster Arab and additional Asian support and invade nations in all three of these regions. Then the final age will truly beginthe "latter days" and the course of world affairs will follow a predetermined script conceived by the Divine Author many millennia ago. And all efforts by mankind to rewrite that script will be in vain.

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