Prophecy: A History of the
Future
Robert A. Nelson
Internet Edition
Copyright 1986/2000: All rights reserved
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 ~ Ancient & Oriental Prophecy: Prophecy as a
Historical Force (The Delphic Oracle ~ Egyptian Prophecies ~ Alexander the
Great ~ The Caesars) ~ The Sibylline Oracles ~ References.
Chapter 2 ~ Biblical Apocalypsis: Judao-Christian Messianism ~ Sephir Zohar ~ Jesus
Christ ~ The Resurrection & Rapture ~ Ezekiel ~ Joel ~ Zechariah ~ Daniel ~ Apocrypha ~
Esdras ~ Epistle of the Apostles ~ Epistle of James ~ Apocalypse of Thomas ~ Nathan ~ The
Revelation of St. John ~ The Millenial Kingdom ~ Muslim Prophecy ~
Oriental Prophecy ~ References.
Chapter 3 ~ European Prophets: The Pseudo-Methodius ~ St. Hilarion ~ St. Ephraim ~St. Columbcille ~ St.
Brogan ~ St. Ultan ~ Bede the Venerable & Monk Adso ~ St. Edward ~ The
Brahan Seer ~ Frater Balthassar Mas ~ Rudolfo Gilther ~ Liber Mirabilis ~
Mother Shipton ~ Rigord of St. Denis ~ Hepidanus ~ Caesarius of Heisterbach ~
Johann Friede ~ Anonymous ~ Pere Nechtou ~ Trappist Monk ~ Catholic Nuns ~ Anna
Emmerich ~ Hildegard of Bingen ~ St.Odile ~ The Seeress of Prague ~
Anna Maria Taigi ~ Marie Jehannet ~ The Mother of All
People ~ Melanie Calvat ~ Our Lady of Fatima ~ Our Lady of Garabandal ~ St.
Malachi ~ St. John Capistrano ~
The Monk of Padua ~ Pope Pius X ~ St. John Bosco ~ The
Monk of Premol ~ The Angelic Pope & Great Monarch ~ St. Cataldus of
Tarentino ~ Rabanus Maurus ~
St. Caesarius of Arles ~ Merlin Ambrosius ~ Pope Leo
VI ~ Joaquim Merlin ~ Barthalomew Holzhauser ~ St. Francisco de Paola ~ Abbe
Souffrant ~ The Mother of Bourg ~ Cheiro ~ Mathias Lang ~ M. Tarabich ~ Alois
Irlmaier ~ The Birch Tree Prophecies ~ Johannes Lichtenberger ~ Spielbahn ~
Bernard Rembold ~ The Prophecy of Mayence ~ The Monk of Werl ~ Wessel Eilert ~
Antonius ~ Peter Schlinkert ~ Brother Anthony ~ Paracelsus ~ Alchemy
& Prophecy ~ References.
Chapter 4 ~ Marian Prophecy: Venerable Mary of Agreda ~ Our Lady of La Salette ~ Our Lady of Lourdes
~ St. John Bosco ~ Our Lady of Fatima ~ Our Lady of Garabandal ~ Padre Pio ~
Sr. Agnes Sasagawa ~ Veronica Lueken ~ Maria Bianchini ~ Our Lady of Medjugorje
~ References
Chapter 5 ~ Moslem Prophecy: Signs of Qiyamah ~ Dajjal ~ Imam Mahdi ~ Isa / Jesus ~ Yajuj & Majuj ~
Dabbah al-Ard ~ Minor Signs ~ The Great Hour & Day of Doom ~ References
Chapter 6 ~ Asian Prophecy: Hindu Prophecy ~ Buddhist Prophecy ~ Zoroastran Prophecy ~ Bahai
Prophecy
Chapter 7 ~ Michel Nostradamus : Biography ~ Recently Fulfilled Quatrains ~ The Moslem
Invasion of Europe ~The Papacy ~ The Grand Monarch ~ The Antichrist ~ Earth
Changes ~ The Presages ~ The Sixains ~ The "Lost Quatrains" ~
References.
Chapter 8 ~ American Prophecy :Aztec Prophecy ~ Quetzelcoatl ~ The Eagle Bowl Calendar ~ Maya Prophecy
~ Inca Prophecy ~ Hopi Prophecy ~ Prophecy Rock ~ Deganawida ~ Crazy Horse ~
Sioux & Navajo, &c.~ Tecumseh ~ Stalking Wolf ~ Mary No-Eyes ~ Sun Bear
~ George Washington ~ Molly Pitcher ~ General McClellan ~ David Croly ~ Joseph
Smith ~ Charles Evans ~ Orson Pratt ~ Brigham Young ~ D. Modin ~ Edgar
Cayce ~ Dannion Brinkley ~ Gordon-M. Scallion ~ Lori Toye ~ Jeanne Dixon ~
Nostradamus ~
Novus Ordo Seculorum ~ References.
Chapter 9 ~ Cycles, Earth Changes & Time: Introduction ~ The
20-Year Cycle of U.S. Presidential Deaths ~ The Kondratieff Wave ~ Cycle of
Power, Affiliation & War ~ Edward Dewey ~ The Wheeler Weather Cycle ~
Tchijevsky: Universal Historical Process ~ Astrometeorology ~ Pole Shifts
~ Geomagnetic Depletion ~ Extinction Events ~ The McKenna/I Ching Apocalpypse
~ The Physics of Time ~ Time Cameras (Ernetti ~ Von Lubek ~ Pelley ~ De La
Warr) ~ Time & Mind ~ The End? ~ References.
Chapter
1: Ancient Western Prophecy
1.
Prophecy as a Historical Force
1a. The Delphic Oracle
1b. Egyptian Prophecies
1c. Alexander the Great
1d. The Caesars
2.
The Sibylline Oracles
3.
Reference
1. Prophecy as a Historical Force
PROPHECIES are memories of possible
futures, echoing across time and space. Prophecy is a proven talent of the
human mind --- one that baffles our notions of time, fate, and free will. The
future is revealed to us through dreams, drugs, religious epiphany, magical
rituals and the mantic arts. If a predicted event does not occur, then the seer
has misinterpreted the psychic impression or was hallucinating. But false
prophecies do not disprove or discredit the many that have been fulfilled.
Indeed, many major events have been foretold with astonishing accuracy.
Prophecy has exerted a powerful influence on the course of history. Many great
persons, such as Alexander the Great, Julius and Augustus Caesar, and George
Washington, were gifted with prophecy.
Hundreds of ancient and modern prophets
have given accounts of their visions. Many of them are concerned with global
catastrophes in the "near future". Although no prophet has been 100%
accurate, many of the seers represented here have made short-and long-term
predictions that were fulfilled during and after their lifetimes. Considering
the established credibility of these visionaries, their warnings of impending
doom deserve our close attention. It behooves us to know the signs of the
times, to recognize the shadows that great events cast before them. Prophecies
can help guide some of us out of harm's way when "insanity will attack the
spirit of man and unrestrained hate shall rage." In any event, with grace,
courage and love, some of us will survive to live in peace at long last.
Time is running out for these prophecies
to be fulfilled or annulled. It is not too late to heed the warnings and
prevent some disasters. The outcome of events can be modified by right action,
unless and until it is too late. Prophecies also can be misunderstood and
misused, and yet prove to be historically effective, though not in the ways we
might expect. Prophecies often tend to be self-fulfilling, a kind of deathwish that
derives power from feedback between people and circumstances. The Delphic
Oracle of Apollo is an excellent example of this process.
1a. The Delphic Oracle ~
The utterances of the Greek Oracles of
Dodona and of Apollo at Delphi were gospel in their time, and guided the course
of Greek and Roman history for several centuries. The Delphic Oracle was
located on Mount Parnassus. There the virgin priestesses, called Pythia,
uttered ecstatic prophecies during an elaborate ritual that included chewing the
leaf of a sacred bay tree and drinking from the holy fountain Kassotis that
flowed from Omphalos, "the navel of the the earth." The Pythia sat on
a tripod over a fissure in the cavern Adyton, and breathed the vapors arising
from the abyss. The fumes induced a trance in them, and they proceeded to
pronounce (or more often mumble incoherently) messages that were interpreted by
attendant priests, who conveyed their translations to the supplicants. Socrates
declared:
"Such prophecy is akin to madness, but
it is a madness which is the special gift of heaven, and the source of the
chiefest blessings among men. For prophecy is a madness, and the prophetess at
Delphi and the priestesses of Dodona, when out of their senses have conferred
great benefits to Hellas, both in public and private life, but when their
senses were few or none."
The Oracle at Delphi was enriched with
gifts from grateful supplicants who worshipped and propitiated Apollo and his
oracle with beautiful temples and fountains, a theater and stadium, thousands
of marble, bronze and gold statues, and many other gifts of exquisite
workmanship. The Roman author Cicero wrote, "Never could the oracle of
Delphi have been so overwhelmed with significant presents from all kings and
nations had not the ages proven the truth of its oracle."
Heraclitus wrote, "The god of Delphi
neither revealeth, nor concealeth, but hinteth." However, while most of
its advice was given in ambiguous terms, the Delphic Oracle also gave exact
answers on occasion. Both types of response were exemplified in the case of
Croesus, King of Lydia (6th century BC). The immensely wealthy monarch was
concerned about the threat posed by Cyrus the Elder, King of Persia and
Babylon. Seeking divine counsel, King Croesus tested several of the most
eminent oracles of his time: Zeus Ammon in Libya, Dudyma near Miletus,
Amphiarus and Trophonia in Boeotia, Zeus Dodona in Epirus, and Abae and Delphi
in Phoeis.
Only the Delphic Oracle correctly answered
the test question posed by Croesus: What was King Croesus engaged in at the
moment of the query (which was on the hundredth day since they had departed
from Sardis)? The Phytia answered thus: "I can count the sands and I can
measure the Ocean, I have ears for the silent, and know what the dumb man
meaneth. Lo, on my sense there striketh the smell of shell-covered tortoise,
boiling now in fire with the flesh of lamb in a cauldron, brass in the vessel
below and brass the cover of it."
The messengers returned to Sardis and
reported the Pythia's answer, which was completely correct and satisfactory to
Croesus. The king then made a huge sacrificial offering to Apollo and presented
the Oracle with many priceless gifts. He asked, "Whether Croesus should
march against the Persians, and if so, whether he should join himself with any
army of men as his friends."
The Oracle replied, "After crossing
the Halys, Croesus will destroy a great empire." Croesus also inquired if
he would have a long reign, to which the Pythia answered, "Nay, when a
mule becometh king of Medes, flee, soft-soled Lydian, by pebbly Hermus, and
stay not, nor feel shame to be a coward." This answer did not please
Croesus, but since it seemed impossible for a mule to be king, he did not worry
about it. Finally, he asked about his deaf-mute son. The Oracle replied:
"Son of Lydia, ruler of men, Croesus, thou prince of fools, desire not to
hear in thy halls the voice long prayed for of a son speaking. He will speak
first on a day that is not propitious."
This last answer disappointed Croesus, but
encouraged by the first, he formed an alliance with Sparta and mounted an army
against Cyrus the Great. Croesus crossed the river Halys to invade Cappadocia,
but withdrew to his own capitol at Sardis after a fierce battle at Pteria.
Croesus then disbanded his army, but Cyrus followed him with the Persian army
and besieged Sardis, which soon fell.
Pythia's prophecy thus became clear.
Croesus did indeed destroy a great empire --- his own. And a "mule"
did become monarch of Media insofar as Cyrus was born of mixed parentage, as
are mules; his mother was a princess of Media, and his father was a Persian.
The third prophecy was fulfilled when a Persian soldier attacked Croesus
without recognizing him. Croesus' deaf-mute son suddenly cried out, "Man,
do not kill Croesus!"
Soon after becoming Emperor of Rome in 54
AD, Nero killed his mother, then went vacationing in Greece. When he visited
the Oracle at Delphi, the Pythia shouted angrily at Nero:
"Your presence here outrages the god
you seek. Go back, matricide! The number 73 marks the hour of your
downfall!"
Nero was infuriated and had the Pythia
buried alive in the sacred cavern, along with the bodies of the temple priests
after their hands and feet had been chopped off.
Nero thought the number 73 would be his
age at death. He was only 30 years old then, so he did not worry about it.
Actually, the number related to Galba, who was 73 years old when he succeeded
Nero in 68 AD.
Before he came to rule the Roman Empire,
Hadrian visited the Delphic Oracle and drank from the sacred fountain Kassotis.
Thus he learned firsthand of his destiny. After he reached the throne, Hadrian
ordered the fountain to be plugged up to prevent anyone else from getting the
same idea from the same source.
Emperor Julian had the blockage removed
during his reign (361-363 AD) because he believed it should be available to
everyone. He said:
"Through the Oracles of Apollo, the
greater part of civilization had come into being because they had revealed the
will of the gods in the sphere of politics, as well as religion, which they
regulated wisely for those who kept their advice."
The Delphic Oracle endured until 390 AD,
when Emperor Theodosius closed the temple; his successor, Arcadius, demolished
it.
1b. Egyptian Prophecies ~
The priests of ancient Egypt were powerful
magicians who practised the mantic arts for the kings and pharoahs and
accurately predicted the course of Egypt's dynastic history. The rulers also
occasionally received advice directly from the gods.
For example, about 1420 BC, when Thutmose
IV was still a prince and had uncertain prospects for rulership, the god
Harmachis-Chepera Re-Tenu appeared to him in a dream and promised that if
Thutmose would clear away the sand that had accumulated around the Sphinx (the
image of the god), he would rule over both North and South Egypt --- the entire
land. Thutmose immediately set men to work at the task, and subsequently
enjoyed the fulfillment of the god's promise.
Similarly, it was truly prophesied to
Nut-Amon (circa 670 BC):
"All the land of the south is thine,
and thou shalt have dominion over all the land of the north. The White Crown
and the Red Crown shall adorn thine head. The length and breadth of the land
shall be given unto thee, and the god Amon, the only god, shall be with
thee."
The birth of Jesus Christ was foretold
almost 2,000 years before the event by Chechepetresonbu, an Egyptian priest at
Heliopolis during the reign of Sesostris II (1906-1887 BC) had a prophetic
vision:
"The ideal ruler for whose advent he
longs --- he brings cooling to the flames. It is said that he is the shepherd
of all men. There is no evil in his heart... Where is he today? Behold, his
might is not seen."
Nectanebo, the last king of Egypt, also
was a prophet, astrologer, and Hermetic magus who used his skills wisely to
prevent his assassination and to win the wars he fought. Eventually, however,
he abdicated and left Egypt for Macedonia because the gods no longer would
cooperate in his magical operations. In Macedonia, he earned a good reputation
as an astrologer. He was consulted by King Phillip while Olympia was pregnant
with Alexander. Nectanebo constructed a natal horoscope for the most auspicious
moment of birth, and insisted to Olympia that she must not allow the child to
be born until the moment he specified. At that time the earth quaked, the sky
tore with lightning, and thunder sounded like cosmic drum rolls saluting the
event. As the infant gave his first cry, Nectanebo announced:
"O Queen, now thou hast given birth
to a governor of the world." (2)
1c. Alexander the Great ~
The night before Queen Olympia and King
Phillip met as newleyweds in the bridal chamber, Olympia dreamed that a flash
of lightning discharged within her womb with a thunderous crash. A sheet of
fire erupted and spread flaming in all directions, then faded away. Phillip
later dreamed that he was sealing up his wife's womb with the image of a lion.
The sage Aristander of Telesmus interpreted these signs to mean that Olympia
was pregnant, for we do not seal up anything empty, and that the son she bore
would be courageous, as a lion symbolizes.
Alexander had many precognitive dreams
that benefited his career. The most famous of his dreams occurred while he laid
siege to the city of Tyre. Alexander dreamed that he had captured a satyr
dancing on a shield. Aristander interpreted the dream as an acronym of the
Greek words "Sa Tyros", meaning, "Tyre is yours." After a
seven month siege, it became his prize. He also had a dream in which he saw
Heracles reach out and call from the walls of Tyre. Thus inspired, Alexander
won the city on the next day.
When Alexander's friend Ptolemaeus was
wounded in battle by a poison arrow, death seemed imminent. Alexander dreamed
that he was watching his wife Olympia feed a fish with roots of strange plants.
The fish showed Alexander where the plants could be found. When Alexander awoke
he searched out the plants and administered them to Ptolemaeus, who recovered.
Later he became Pharoah of Egypt.
Having conquered Egypt, Alexander wanted
to build a great city, to be called Alexandria. Again he had a prophetic dream
in which an ancient sage quoted certain passages in Homer's writings referring
to Pharos. Alexander went quickly to Pharos, where he found an excellent site
with outstanding advantages. Alexander ordered that a city be mapped out to fit
the site. The Macedonians had no chalk with them so they marked the area with
barley. Suddenly, countless flocks of birds of all species flew to the place
and ate every grain of barley. This amazing omen disturbed Alexander, but his
soothsayer told him it meant that Alexandria would be a nurse and feeder of
great men of every race. The library of Alexandria became the greatest in the
ancient world.
1d. The Caesars ~
All of the mantic arts, and especially
astrology, were widely practiced in ancient Rome. Several astrologers
accurately predicted the destinies of the Caesarian dynasty andother emperors.
The Romans took dreams so seriously that the citizens of Rome were legally
bound to report to the Senate any dreams that could be connected with the
security and destiny of the empire.
The astrologer Tyrasyllus accurately figured
that Claudius would die when he was "63 years, 63 days, 63 watches, 63
hours old" on October 13, 54 AD. Claudius was murdered by his wife
Agrippina, who fed him a dish of poisoned mushrooms when she learned that he
might not name Nero as his heir. He died the next day, on October 13.
Claudius and Nero frequently consulted the
astrologer Barbillius for advice. He had predicted that Claudius would die in
the 14th year of his reign, and he told Agrippina that Nero would reign.
"But," he warned her, "if he comes to the throne, he will kill
his mother." Her lifelong ambition was to make her son Emperor of Rome;
thus she replied, "If he but reigns, I do not care. Let him kill me."
And he did.
Perhaps the most famous Roman prophecy was
the warning, "Beware the Ides of March" (March 15) given to Julius
Caesar by the seer Spurinna Vestritius during a religious sacrifice. The night
before his assassination, Caesar's wife Calpurnia dreamt that the turret of her
house crumbled and that the corpse of Caesar was carried into their home, and
she wept over him. In the morning, she pleaded with Caesar not to go to the
Senate, but he would not heed her despite his own suspicions. Brutus argued
that a great throng was awaiting his arrival at the Senate and he must not
disappoint them. On his way there he met the seer Spurinna and said to him,
"The Ides of march are here without any calamity." Spurinna replied,
"Yes, they are here, but they have not yet gone." Caesar died that
day in 44 BC.
Augustus was Julius Caesar's adopted son
and successor. When Augustus went to Philippi in 42 BC to revenge the murder of
Julius by Brutus and company, he was too weak to walk and had to be carried in
a litter. Cassius' forces overran Augustus' camp and captured many soldiers.
But Augustus had been carried away by his doctor and hidden in a marsh until
the battle ended. The doctor swore that he had been awakened by a dream telling
him to remove Augustus.
The Roman historian Dion Cassius recorded
the following prophecy by the astrologer-senator Nigidius Figulus concerning
Augustus Caesar, the son of Octavius:
Scarcely was the boy born when Nigidius
Figulus prophesied for him the absolute empire of the world. Among his
contemporaries, this prophet was held to be the wisest in the knowledge of the
stars and constellations... When he saw that Octavius, because of the birth of
his son, was somewhat late in getting to the Curia.. He came towards him and
asked him why he was so tardy. When he heard the reason, he announced:
"You have given us a master."
Octavius, depressed by this announcement
[in those days many Romans still thought they were a democratic nation], wished
to have the child slain. But the prophet advised him against it, saying:
"It were impossible for anything of
the sort to happen to this child."
Later, when Octavius was leading an army
in Thrace, he consulted a local oracle concerning his son. As the priest poured
wine over the altar, a flame burst forth, leapt to the roof of the temple, and
into the sky. The priests told Octavius that such an omen had occurred only
once before --- to Alexander the Great during a sacrifice.
While still a young man and before rising
to power, Augustus consulted the sage Theogenes for his horoscope. When
Augustus told his birth time to Theogenes, the man knelt before the youth and
forecast his ascent to imperial power. The horoscope so impressed Augustus that
he had it published and minted a silver coin with the sigil of Capricorn, his
Sun sign.
To express appreciation for his great good
fortune, Augustus built a temple of peace. He consulted the Delphic Oracle,
asking how long the temple would stand and peace last. The Oracle answered,
"Until a virgin gives birth to a child and yet remains a virgin." As
that seemed impossible, Augustus thought the oracle was predicting eternal
peace. He dedicated the temple with a tablet inscribed "Templum pacis
aeterna." But at the birth of Christ, the temple collapsed "without
warning or discoverable cause."
At the same time Christ was born, Augustus
Caesar was consulting the Tiburtine Sibyl to ask if he should accept the title
"God of the nations" which the Senate wanted to confer on him. While
the Sibyl consulted her sacred books, a brilliant meteor flashed across the
sky. The Sibyl took the celestial omen as her answer, saying:
"Look! It is a sign of the future
that is revealed to you. One world is ending, and another is beginning. A child
has just been born, who is the king of future millenia, the true god of the
world. He is of humble birth and of an obscure race. His divinity is
unrealized; when he at last makes himself known, he will be persecuted. He will
work miracles, he will be accused of trafficking with evil spirits, but I see
him victor in the end over death, rising from the place where his murderers
entombed him. He will reunite all nations."
2. The Sibylline Oracles ~
The ancient prophecies known as the
Sibylline Oracles or Sibyllae are attributed to divinely inspired seeresses who
lived in the Greek colonies in the 8th century BC. The earliest reference to a
Sibyl was by the philosopher Heraclitus (ca. 500 BC):
"The Sibyl with frenzied lips,
uttering words mirthless, unembellished, unperfumed, penetrates through the
centuries by the powers of the gods."
The Sibyllae were presented to Tarquin I
(The Proud), the fifth king of Rome, by the Sibyl of Cumae in 615 BC. She
offered him nine books foretelling the destiny of the Romans with instructions
to be followed so that the predicted events would follow their course. The
Sibyl demanded a payment of 300 gold philippi, a large sum, but Tarquin refused
the offer. The Sibyl then burned three volumes of the set, and again requested
300 philippi for the remaining books. Tarquin again declined the offer,
whereupon the Sibyl burned three more of the books, and again demanded the same
price. King Tarquin was thus convinced of the value of the books, and paid for
the remaining three volumes. Only fragments of one book survive to this day.
The Sibyllae were very popular with the
Romans, who installed them in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, guarded by a
special priesthood. The Sibyllae were consulted during crises of the Republic
and upon the appearance of unusual omens. The books were destroyed in 83 BC
when Rome burned during a civil war. The Senate assigned three senators to
reconstruct the remaining book as much as possible. Emperor Augustus later
collected all available Sibylline verses from Greece and other Roman colonies
and edited them into about 200 spurious oracles. The books were destroyed by
the Vandal General Flavius Stilicho "in order to cause the ruin of the
Empire by getting rid of its guarantee of eternal life." (3-6)
The Sibylline Oracles were well respected
by the Jewish and early Christian Fathers, who quoted them frequently and even
published their own revised editions containing Judaeo-Christian prophecies and
teachings for dissemination amongst the pagans. The Sibylline Oracles
(1:381-388) include this prediction of the birth of Christ:
"And then the child of the great God
to men
Shall come incarnate, being fashioned like
The mortals on the earth. And he shall
bear
Four vowels, and the consonants in Him
Are twice told; and the whole sum I name:
For eight ones, and as many tens to these,
And yet eight hundred will the name reveal
To men who are given up to unbelief."
In the Greek language in which this
prophecy was written, Jesus is spelled Iota, Eta, Sigma, Omicron, Upsilon, Sigma.
The gematrial values are: Iota, 10 (vowel 1); Eta, 8 (vowel 2); Sigma, 200
(consonant); Omicron, 70 (vowel 3); Upsilon, 400 (vowel 4, line 384); Sigma,
200 (consonant, "twice told", line 385); total, 888 (lines 386 and
387).
The Tiburtine Sibyl, composed ca. 500 AD,
includes a description of the legendary Final Emperor, who will be succeeded by
the Antichrist:
"At that time the Prince of Iniquity
who will be called Antichrist will arise from the tribe of Dan. He will be the
Son of Perdition, the head of pride, the master of error, the fulness of malice
who will overturn the world and do wonders and great signs through
dissimulation. He will delude many by magic art so that fire will seem to come
down from heaven. The years will be shortened like months, the months like
weeks, the weeks like days, the days like hours, and an hour like a moment. The
unclean nations that Alexander, the Indian king, shut up will arise from the
North. These are the 22 realms whose number is like the sand of the sea. When
the king of the Romans hears of this he will call his army together and
vanquish and utterly destroy them. After this he will come to Jerusalem, and
having put off the diadem from his head and laid aside the whole imperial garb,
he will hand over the empire of the Christians to God the Father and to Jesus
Christ His Son. When the Roman Empire shall have ceased, then the Antichrist
will be openly revealed and will sit in the House of the Lord in Jerusalem.
While he is reigning, two very famous men, Elijah and Enoch, will go forth to
announce the coming of the Lord. Antichrist will kill them and after three days
they will be raised up by the Lord. Then there will be a great persecution,
such as has not been before nor shall be thereafter. The Lord will shorten
those days for the sake of the elect, and the Antichrist will be slain by the
power of God through Michael the Archangel on the Mount of Olives"
The Vaticinium Erythrian Sibyl was
composed in the 12th century. Part III contains this Catholic Sibyl's view of
apocalypse:
" There will arise another king from
Heliopolis and he will wage war against the king from the East and kill him.
And he will grant a tax-exemption to entire countries for three years and six
months, and the earth will bring forth its fruit, and there is none to eat
them. And there will come the ruler of perdition, he who is changed, and will
smite and kill him. And he will do signs and wonders on earth. He will turn the
sun into darkness and the moon into blood. And after that the springs and
rivers will dry up, and the Nile will be transformed into blood. And then there
will appear two men who did not come to know the experience of death, Enoch and
Elijah, and they will wage war upon the ruler of perdition. And he will say:
"My time has come," and he will be angered and slay them. And then he
who was crucified on the wood of the cross will come from the heavens, like a
great and flashing star, and he will resurrect those two men. And he who was
hung on the cross will wage war with the son of perdition and will slay him and
all his host. Then the land of Egypt will burn twelve cubits deep, and the land
will shout to God: "Lord, I am a virgin." And then the son of God
will come with great power and glory to judge the nine generations. And then
Christ will rule, the son of the living God, and his holy angels. Amen, so be
it...
"The Last Judgment will follow the
Abomination. Signs will precede. There will be four kinds of unusual color in
the elements and a change in the course in the heavenly bodies. There will be a
celestial sign in that the air will appear at times yellow, at times
pitch-black, now green, now clear red. Apollo will be split, now in ten, now in
four, now in two parts; the moon will run together with the sun. Those dwelling
on the earth will be struck with fear when they see the stars all bloody. At
the same time the earth will well up in different places, and there will be a
fearful sign of commotion. There will be collision of kingdoms, seizure of
thrones, earthquakes, and famines. Out of desire for food mothers will abase
their sons and daughters in debauchery... All these things are indications of
the Abomination for whom there is no rule.
"When three signs come the
inhabitants of the earth should know that he is near. In the city of Aeneas a
100-year old woman will bear twins with the aid of the faithless. A burning
river will issue from Mt. Aetna and devour the inhabitants. After this two
peaks will crash together in the snowy mountains, the earth there will be
opened in an abyss, and a snowy mist will ascend to heaven.
"After these things, there will be a
gathering together of many nations bestial in their manner of life and a
division of the world into ten sceptres. The vilest forms of copulation will
precede pregnancies, the worst of all being that of the Abomination. He will
then kill many kings whom he has put under his yoke. The Spouse will be silent,
the cock will grow hoarse, and there will be abuse of the Lamb. Heaven, the
sun, and the elements will seem to be a testimony to the Abomination in that he
will do wonders, make the stars dark, weaken the perfect, regain the Jews. All
this will happen so that he may renew what was old and cast out what has been
renewed...
"The Last Judgment will be imminent;
the signs will precede it. The sun will be frequently eclipsing and stretching
out in vast fashion will destroy. The Euphrates will be dried up to a mere
trickle; Aetna will be laid open on two sides, Avernus will roar, and three
parts of the inhabitants of Sicily will perish. Pharos will swell up most
horibly and flood the nearby areas. After this the sea will sink to the depths
and the fish gathered together will give forth a roar. Then the heavens will be
opened in four parts, there will be thunder, and the inhabitants of the earth
will hear the threats of Judgment. Ineffable things will blare forth on the
trumpet. Blameless heralds will announce the destruction of all things, saying:
"Let there be humility and repentence!"...
"Then all the kings and princes will
appear and behold the Lamb who pays back all men uupon his throne of terror. No
discrimination of wealthy or poor will take place there, but only the weighing
of merits. Then crimes will be made evident, fear and trembling and horror of
the abyss set out for punishment will strike all so that there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. They will stretch out their hands in prayer, but the
lamb will be inflexible; he will be fearful in punishing. In his sight there
will be lightning and thunder, merit along with sins. Blessing will be on his
right; curses will come from his left. He will judge the good and evil to lift
the former on high and allow hell to swallow the latter to the fate of the
demons. This is the end of the book of the Erythraean Sibyl of Babylon."
Much of what little remains of the
Sibylline Oracles exists in fragments. The following are most apoclyptic and
well written:
"And then will God speak with a
mighty voice
To all rude people of an empty mind;
And judgments from the mighty God shall
come
Upon them, and they shall be destroyed
By an immortal hand. And fiery swords
Shall fall from heaven on earth, and
mighty lights
Shall come down flaming in the midst of
men.
And mother earth shall be tossed in those
days
By an immortal hand...
Then shall all the elements of all the
world
Be desolate, air, earth, sea, flaming
fire,
And sky and night, and all days to one
fire
And to one barren shapeless mass to come.
For
all the luminous stars shall fall from heaven;
No more will winged birds fly through the
air,
Nor footsteps be on ear; for all wild
beasts
Shall perish, voices of men, beasts and
birds
Shall be no more. The world, being
disarranged,
Shall hear no useful sound, but the deep
sea
Shall echo back a mighty threatening
voice,
And swimming, trembling creatures of the
sea
Shall all die; and no longer on the waves
Will sail a freighted ship. The earth
shall groan
Bloodstained by wars; and all the souls of
men
Shall gnash their teeth --- the souls of
lawless men,
Wasted by lamentations and by fear,
By hunger, thirst and pestilence and
murders ---
And they shall call it beautiful to die,
And death will flee from them, for death
no more
Nor night shall give them rest. And many
things
Will they in vain ask God who rules on
high,
And then he will turn openly his face
Away from them... All these things to my
mind did God reveal
And all that has been spoken by my mouth
Will be fulfilled...
No more will treacherous gold and silver
be
Nor earthly wealth, nor toilsome
servitude,
But one vast friendship and one mode of
life
Will be with glad people, and all things
Will common be, and equal light of life.
And wickedness from earth in the vast sea
Shall sink away. And then the harvest-time
of Mortals is near. Strong necessity
Is laid upon these things to be fulfilled.
Nor then will any other traveler say,
Recalling, that men's perishable race
Shall ever cease. And then o'er all the
earth
A holy nation will the sceptre hold
Unto all ages with their mighty
sires..."
3. References [Not included in the Internet Edition] ~
Chapter
2
Biblical
Apocalypsis
1. Judaeo-Christian Messianism
2. Jesus Christ
3. The Resurrection & Rapture
4. Ezekiel
5. Joel
6. Zechariah
7. Daniel
8. Esdras
9. Epistle of the Apostles
10. Epistle of James
11. Apocalypse of Thomas
12. The Revelation of John
13. Esther of Sidon
14. The Bible Code
15. The Millennial Kingdom
1.
Judaeo-Christian Messianism ~
Beginning with Genesis and continuing
through the Revelation of St. John, the Hebrew prophets spoke forth in
Jehovah's name to promise their downtrodden countrymen divine deliverance from
their oppressors.
The Bible contains 1,817 predictions in
8,352 verses; the Old Testament includes 1,239 predictions in 6,641 verses, and
the New Testament contains 578 predictions in 1,711 verses, for a total of 27%
predictive material. This multitude of prophecies assures the Jews and
Christians that God will deliver Israel from its enemies and itself and build
it into a glorious empire to which a conquered world will be subject.
Christians hold the Bible to be the
infallible word of God, but several passages in the book caution against taking
prophecies as gospel: I Samuel 9:9; Jeremiah 23:11, 14, 16, 25-28, 30-32, 40;
Deuteronomy 18:22; Matthew 7:15-23; ibid., 13:57; ibid., 24:5, 23, 24. Ezekiel
3:17-19 defines the prophets' task:
"Son of Man, I have made thee a
watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and
give them warning from me.
"When I say unto the wicked, thou
shalt surely die: and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the
wicked from his wicked ways, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in
his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
"Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he
turn not from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast
delivered thy soul."
Insanity is often concomitant with
prophetic ability. According to Hosea 9:7, "The prophet is a fool, and the
spiritual man is mad." Jeremiah 29:26 described his fellow prophets as
"every man that is mad", and in II Kings 9:11, the prophet Elijah is
called a "mad fellow" for his bizarre behavior. Yet there is method
in their madness: the whole of Jewish and Christian belief predicts a personal,
enlightened, and divinely appointed king --- the Messiah --- by whom the Holy
Kingdom of God will be established.
"Messiah" is the Anglicized form
of the Hebrew word Mashiah (anointed). The use of the word derives from its
reference to Aaron and his sons, who were anointed with oil and consecrated to
the service of Jehovah (Exodus 28: 41). The High Priest of Israel was titled
"The Mashiah of God" (Leviticus 4: 3, 5, 16) and the Jewish kings
were "the Anointed of the Lord" (I Samuel 2: 10, 35, etc.). Some of
the prophets also were anointed (I Kings 19: 16). The prophetic concept of a
Messiah first appears in Isaiah 11: 1-12:
"And there shall come forth a rod out
of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
"And the spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel
and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
"And shall make him of quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight
of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
"But with righteousness shall he
judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall
smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked.
"And righteousness shall be the
girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: and the calf and the young lion
and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
"And the suckling child shall play on
the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice's den.
"They shall not hurt or destroy in
all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea.
"And in that day there shall be a
root of Jesse, which shall stand for an
ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall
be glorious.
"A shoot out of the stock of
Jesse" refers to a genealogical or spiritual descendant of the royal
Davidic lineage.
The Jewish Messianic program calls for two
Messiahs. The first, Messiah ben Joseph, will be killed in Jerusalem by Armilus
(the Antichrist). He will be resurrected by Messiah ben David, who will kill
Armilus in turn.
In Sefer Ta'am Z'qenim, Eliziezer Askenazi
transmitted an explicit Jewish prophecy, first recorded by Hai Gaon (938-1038
AD), which describes to the two Messiahs:
"When eight years will be left of the
years of the end, which are the years of the beginning of the redemption... a
man will rule over Israel for not less than nine months and not more than three
years. At that time a man will arise from among the Children of Joseph... and
he will be called Messiah of God. And many people will gather around him in
Upper Galilee, and he will be their king... But most of Israel will be in their
exile, for it will not be clear to them that the end has come. And then Messiah
ben Joseph, with the men who rally around him, will go up from Galilee to
Jerusalem, and they will slay the procurator of the king of Edom, and the
people who will be with him... And when all the nations hear that a king has
risen among the Children of Israel in Jerusalem, they will rise up against them
in the other countries and will expel them, saying: "Until now you were
with us in faith, and so that you should have neither king nor prince; but now
that you have a king you must not dwell in our land."
"And many of Israel will go out into
the desert... and will dwell there in tents, and many of them will lack bread
and water... and they will suffer in accordance with their deeds. And many of
them will leave the covenant of Israel, for they will become weary of their
lives...
"And when Messiah ben Joseph and all
the people with him will dwell in Jerusalem, Armilus will hear their tidings
and will come and make magic and sorcery to lead many astray with them, and he
will go up and wage war against Israel, and will defeat Messiah ben Joseph and
his people, and will kill many of them, and will capture others, and divide
their booty.. And he will slay Messiah ben Joseph and it will be a great
calamity for Israel... Why will permission be granted to Armilus to slay Messiah
ben Joseph? In order that the heart of those of Israel who have no faith should
break, and so they will say: "This is the man for whom we have hoped; now
he came and was killed and no redemption is left for us." And they will
leave the covenant of Israel, and attach themselves to the nations, and the
latter will kill them.
"And to those who are left in the
land of Pathros, Messiah ben David will reveal himself...
"And most of the slain will be in the land for forty days. When Messiah ben Joseph is killed, his body will remain cast out for forty days, but no unclean thing will touch him, until Messiah ben David comes and brings him back to life, as commanded by the Lord. And this will be the beginning of the signs he will perform, and this is the resurrection of the dead which will come to pass. And then Messiah ben David and Elijah and Israel, who come from the deserts to Jerusalem, will sit in peace and safety for many days, and will build houses and plant vineyards, and they will succeed in herds and property, until Gog will hear their tidings... And the Land of Gog and Magog is of the Land of Edom... And they will come to fight and they will wage war against Jerusalem and Messiah ben David, and Elijah and all the people who are in it...&