The Epistle to Henri

The Introduction of Heinmiller to the Epistle

To the Reader:

Before you read this epistle, I must point out to you that it is renown for being exceedingly obscure and convoluted. While I have by some reason, either blind luck or the blessing of the One, managed to interpret some of it in such a way that it is very intelligible, it is by no means absolutely certain that I have got all of it. I am convinced of those passages that I have managed to interpret that I regard belong to past events and I am convinced that I have a fairly accurate interpretation of those passages that are concerning the soon to be upcoming war of wars. But while I am certain about the past and I am certain I am fairly accurate about the future, I must admit to some doubt that I have got the future correct in all its details. There are also certain passages that, while I did make an attempt to figure them out, especially those concerning the very end of the epistle, do remain somewhat obscure to me and I must confess that there is the excellent possibility that I am wrong. If I am right, it will by no means please me, for it would involve warfare and murder of such a scale that almost everyone in the world will die and while there may be some so-called religious people who look forward to such evil happening because they want the upcoming reborn world, I must admit I do not share their zeal. World War II should be enough to caution anyone as to the evils of war.

There are some who may claim that such a war may be necessary to purge the hatred out of humanity. This may be the case but I must confess that though I am often filled with rage as to what happens, I would never want the end of the hatred, greed and bigotry that is consuming my world to end only because practically everyone is killed off because of it. I would much prefer that people, especially those in power, learn and not put the human race into such a situation where it has to either reform or die. But sadly, it may be true that we do end up having to go through it. If so, I will never take any pleasure in being right. Not if it means the death of practically the whole human race.

Please note this also. Nostradamus was a devout Christian. Part of the Christian tradition concerned prophecy. Of key import in our dealings with prophecy, according to Christian doctrine, is this passage in the book of Jeremiah which governs all prophecy, old and new: "The prophets who came before us from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. When a prophet prophesies peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that Jehovah hath truly sent him." Consider also the Book of Jonah, how Jonah prophecied the destruction of the city of Nineveh yet it did not happen. Remember God's reply to Jonah when Jonah was angry because God did not destroy Nineveh as promised: "And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

The only prophecies that need to come true, per this rule of Jeremiah/Jonah, are prophecies of peace. Prophecies of war and pestilence, blood, death and damnation need not come true. It would please me greatly to be wrong, or for me to be right yet for mankind to at the last second take a different path and to avoid the death and destruction prophecied. This was, I am certain, Nostradamus' intent and, while I am not a Christian, I do agree with this thinking. Prophecy is worthless if what it says must come to pass. But if prophecy can be taken as a warning, then we can change our ways - or suffer the consequences.

Please keep this in mind when you read this, the Epistle to Henry of France the Second and my interpretation.

I have written what Nostradamus wrote in italics. My comments are written in standard type.

The Epistle to Henry of France II, Interpreted and Annotated

Since this sovereign observation I had, o most Christian and most victorious King, after my face, having long been beclouded, was presented by the deity to your most immense majesty, I, undeserving as I am, have remained perpetually dazzled to honor and venerate that day that I was presented in front of one so majestic and humane. I have searched for some opportunity to manifest my good heart and frank courage which by my power would obtain even greater cognizance of your most Serene Majesty. But I saw by the effects how impossible it was for me to declare myself, joined with my peculiar desire without long obstruction and obscurity, when I was suddenly seized and transported to the front of the face of the sovereign and premier monarch of the universe.

I was for a long time in such doubt as to whom I should dedicate these last three Centuries of my prophecies, making up the thousand. After having a long time to meditate on such an act, I have chosen your Majesty. I was not daunted like those mentioned by the author Plutarch, in his Life of Lycurgus: seeing offerings and gifts brought as sacrifices in the temples of the undying gods at that time, in the end they did not give much because of fervent defects and not having much to present in the temples. Seeing your royal splendor, accompanied with an incomparable humanity, I have placed my address, not as to the Kings of Persia of whom none were allowed to approach, but rather to a most prudent and most wise Prince to whom I have dedicated some of my nocturnal and prophetic calculations. These were composed mostly by a natural instinct, accompanied by a poetic passion, not by rules of poetry, and for the most part composed and in accord with Astronomical calculations corresponding to the years, months and weeks of the regions, lands and the most part of the villages and cities of all Europe, consisting also of Africa and part of Asia and by the change of regions, which approach for the most part all the climates. They are composed in a natural fashion.

A key point here is that he includes three land masses; most, if not all of Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, where he states the vast majority of the quatrains will find their completion. It is also here where this epistle will find most of its tragic and (ironically avoidable) fulfillment. But note also that Nostradamus includes “the changes in the regions” which includes all the climates – literally meant it means worldwide. So, the vast majority of the quatrains deal with Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but there will be quatrains that deal with other parts of the world. It will be found that this epistle is mostly concerned with the same three regions, even though the west does seem to make an appearance.

For those who are curious, the sovereign and premier monarch of the universe is God.

Indeed, someone, who would do well to blow his nose, would reply that the rhythm is as easy as the sense is difficult. That, most humane king, is because most of the prophetic quatrains are so troubling that there is no making way through them, nor is there any interpreting.

It must be pointed out that while the passage here was written with an eye to the times, it were written as well as to his future. This is actually a message to the people of his future, likely the people of today. But it was written with an appreciation of the nature of the people who lived in his time.

In a very real way, Nostradamus is trying to explain this fact to the reader of his future. Yet at the same time, he knew it would be read by the people of his time and likely by his king, none of whom would find it agreeable to their fancies. His statement here practically cries out that it is a false statement, but the lie is directed to the people of his time, with a true message to the people of the future.

What is this secret message, the message from the past to the future that had to be read yet not understood by his present? “most of the prophetic quatrains are so troubling” provides the clue. The term Nostradamus used where I used troubling was sçabreau, a very interesting old French word that has several meanings: among these meanings are rough, thorny, indelicate, harsh and caustic. I used troubling because of this, but the meaning is clear: he had to give the prophecy a certain level of obscurity to protect the work from his own generation, even from generations that would find it not to their fancy. In other parts, he realized how earlier generations would have rejected the quatrains if they were revealed as they were, while future generations would recognize the truth in what was written.

Obscurity is therefore given to his times, with the hope that his future can figure out the truth and understand it, maybe forgiving him and his generation in the process.

Still, I wanted to leave a record in writing of the years, towns, cities and regions in which most of the events will come to pass, even those of the year 1585 and of the year 1606, reckoning from the present time, which is March 14, 1557, and going far beyond to events that will afterwards commence around the seventh millenary, profoundly calculated by my astronomical calculations are the years in which the adversaries of Jesus Christ and his Church will begin to multiply greatly.

Nostradamus wrote this in 1557. The work itself probably took a lot of preparation to make; the writing, once all this was completed, probably took a few months. It is therefore likely that he started working on this well before March 14, 1557, completing it on June 27, 1557, when he signed it.

Also note the two years he listed: 1585 & 1606. The year 1585 did see the beginning of the phase of the Religious Wars of France known as the War of the Three Henri’s, but 1606 seems to be relatively free of significant events, unless you count the likely near death of Henri IV due to a sickness during that year. However, note that Nostradamus says reckoning from the present time. For him, that would be 1557. So, we add 1585 to the year 1557, we get the year 3142. Likewise, if we add 1606 to the year 1557, we get the year 3163. This being the year 2009 when I write this (and not knowing when it will be actually published) it seems an awfully long time in the future. Yet note that Nostradamus wrote in his Epistle to Cesar that his prophecies continue to the year 3797. With the bulk of the unfulfilled quatrains apparently coming up soon, it would seem that many quatrains could never be fulfilled. But looking at such a long time for their fulfillment, it becomes obvious that what is unintelligible today would, in eleven centuries, become obvious. They must wait till the time of their fulfillment to be known.

The whole was composed and calculated in days and hours of election and good disposition, and more precisely when the judgment was accurate. And the day MINERVA FREE AND UNASKED, calculating the future adventures of times, by ages past understanding the present, and the lesson of time the regions will know they constrained the future. Everything will happen as it is written, nothing superfluous added for the year, THE POINT IS THAT THE FUTURE IS NOT COMPLETELY AND TRULY DETERMINABLE.

"THE POINT IS THAT THE FUTURE IS NOT COMPLETELY AND TRULY DETERMINABLE." The last line, written in Latin, is an astonishing statement that seems to contradict what he had just written in French: "Everything will happen as it is written, nothing superfluous added for the year." Nostradamus himself wrote this contradiction, the first statement in French, the second in Latin.

There are two reasons for this. The first was the nature on how he put the quatrains together. Unlike the prophets of old, he did not see everything laid out like a blanket, the way it would happen. He saw events and from the visions he saw he tried to reconstruct what was to him would be future history. He could not guarantee the accuracy of every quatrain. He was also uncertain whether his reconstruction of the future was completely accurate.

The second was an assertion, long since lost on the minds of Christians who listen to biblical prophecy as if it will happen. Being the good Christian he was, also having a good, solid biblical education that even doctors of theology of today do not have, he was aware of the biblical assertion about prophecy made by the prophet Jeremiah: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true. (Jer 28:5-9). He was also aware of how prophecies of gloom and doom did not have to happen, as the entire book of Jonah taught him. God saw what they did; he saw that they had given up their wicked behavior. So he changed his mind and did not punish them as he had said he would. (Jer 3:10). The implications of these two passages prove that, biblically speaking, no prophecy of war and disaster was written in stone, only prophecies of peace had to occur if they came from God.

The prophecies, even what is written in this epistle, are not prophecies of what must come to pass. They are only what Nostradamus foresaw what will come to pass if we do not change our ways! This last point is very important. Nostradamus obviously believed it quite strongly.

It is definitely true, sire, that my natural instinct was given to me by my ancestors who did not believe in predicting. It is this natural instinct that has been adjusted and accorded to my long suppositions, united with the freedom of the heart, spirit and courage from all cares through solitude. All of these by rest and tranquility of the spirit. All according and presaged in part by BRASS TRIPOD.

This somewhat confusing passage indicates what Nostradamus thought about his abilities and what he did. He claims to have inherited his instinct, as he calls it, from his ancestors who did not use it for predicting the future. He used his abilities in solitude and used the rituals of Branchus, which the brass tripod is a clear reference to.

It is true that some would attribute to me that which does not belong to me. Only God the eternal, the tester of human hearts, pious, courageous and merciful, is the true judge. To him alone I pray that he chooses to defend me from the calumnies of evil men. These evil men also calumniously enquire, for whatever reason, how all your ancient progenitors, the Kings of France, have cured the scrofula, how those of other nations have cured the bites of snakes, how those of yet other nations have an instinct for the art of divination and still others which are too numerous to recite here.

After my death, despite those whose baseness of spirit will not be containable, due to the lessons of time my writing will have more import. However, if in my calculation of ages I failed to reproduce the entirety according to the will of the ages, I only ask that your most Imperial Majesty excuse me, for I protest in front of God and the Saints, that I do not pretend to put anything into this epistle that is in any way contrary to the Catholic faith, while consulting the astronomical calculations to the best of my ability.

The assertion that his calculations will be more important long after he dies is a direct indication to what is written in this epistle. Nostradamus was worried, very worried, about what he saw in his future. When one looks at what he saw, the French Revolution, the Franco-Prussian War, the Great War which saw the destruction of most of Europe’s monarchies and the so-called Second World War, which was really the Fascist War, it becomes apparent that his warnings would be very important. The Anti-Christ war was his greatest concern.

This concludes the introduction. Now begins the first of two very interesting biblical time lines.

Of the space of the time of the fathers, with our sound judgement subject to the correction of the best judgment, that the first man, Adam, was in front of Noah by about one thousand two hundred forty two years, this time is not computed by the supposition of the Gentiles, as used by Varro. This was done only according to the blessed Scriptures and according to the weak knowledge of my spirit, in my Astronomical calculations. After Noah and the universal deluge by one thousand eighty years came Abraham who was a supreme astrologer and invented the Chaldean alphabet. Afterwards came Moses about five hundred fifteen or sixteen years. Between the time of David and Moses passed approximately five hundred seventy years. Between the time of David and the time of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, born of the only Virgin, were (according to no Chronographs) one thousand three hundred fifty years. Some will be able to object that these calculations are not verifiable, because they differ from those of Eusebius. And from the time of the human redemption to the detestable seduction of the Saracens about six hundred twenty one years, or thereabouts, passed. After this one can easily calculate the time passed.

Comparing what Nostradamus wrote to the actual Biblical text, one must come to the realization that Nostradamus’ figures and numbers are completely incorrect. Even the most minor scholar can pick up a bible and compute the time of years from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, it is laid out in the Old Testament.

So, what was the actual biblical time line? Taking the Adam to Noah account, Adam had Seth at 130 years, who had Enosh at 105, who had Kenan at 90, who had Mahalalel at 70, who had Jared at 65, who had Enoch at 162, who had Methuselah at 65, who had Lamech at 187, who had Noah at 182. Adding up the years gives us the year 1056, a difference of 186 years.

Taking the time from Noah and the Universal Deluge (biblical of course), depends whether one counts it from the death of Noah or the end of the flood. Noah lived 350 years after the flood; but let’s continue with the line of descendency. Shem was 100 years old when his son, Arpachshad, was born; this was 2 years after the flood. After this the lineage to Abraham is easily figured. At 35, Arpachshad had Selah, who had Eber at 30, who had Peleg at 34, who had Reu at 30, who had Serug at 32, who had Nahor at 30, who had Terah at 29, who had Abram, later known as Abraham, at 70, a total of 292. In other words, if the Bible is correct, Noah knew Abraham for over fifty years. Therefore, we should not count the years from Noah’s death, in fact we cannot. However, if we count it from Noah’s birth, we simply add the age of Noah when he gave birth to Shem (500 years), and the 98 years Shem was up to the end of the flood. That gives us 890 years. So, your choice, 292 from the flood or 890 years from the birth of Noah.

From Abraham to Moses the list is as follows: Abraham had Isaac at 100, who had Jacob at 60. Jacob was 130 years old when he went into Egypt, beginning the 430 years that the nation of Israel stayed in Egypt. Moses was 79 or 80 years old when the Exodus from Egypt occurred. This means that the time from Abraham to Moses was either 650 or 651 years.

Moses was 79 or 80 when the Exodus occurred. 40 years later, they invaded Canaan by crossing the Jordan River under Joshua. The period from the conquest of Canaan to the birth of David is not certain, all that is certain is from the first falling away after the death of Joshua to the death of Sampson who died killing the Philistines, 368 years passed. Between the beginning of the conquest of Canaan to the first falling away, and from the death of Sampson to the birth of David, I can find nothing. 447 or 448 years are accountable, but the rest are not.

Again, from the birth of David to the birth of Jesus, not much is said in the Bible. The reigns of the kings are stated, so is the exile in Babylonia up to the return, but after that, nothing. Yet some historians claim that David was born around 1030 BC. If that is true, and assuming that Jesus was born in the year 1 AD, then 1031 years would have passed between the two births.

Even the last statement is inaccurate. The Hijra, (also known as the Hijrat or Hegira), Mohammed’s the escape from Mecca to Yathrib (renamed Medina in honor of this) occurred in the year 622, exactly 621 years after the supposed birth of Jesus in year 1. However, Nostradamus states not from the birth of the Messiah, but from the human redemption; meaning the claimed execution and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was definitely executed approximately 33 AD, though whether he was resurrected is still a matter of debate and an article of faith either way. Therefore, 589 years passed between the Human redemption and the Hijra, not the 621 stated.

It must be pointed out that Nostradamus was far too astute a scholar to have made such blatant errors. So, what is the purpose behind this apparently inaccurate rendering of the timeline of Biblical history? The following is speculation, I must admit I would not be surprised to find it completely wrong. Taking the numbers of years Nostradamus gave, and add the year 1557 to it, you get the respective years: 2799, 2637, 2062 or 2063, 2127, 2907 & 2172, these could be key years for the future. If you add up the years Nostradamus gave the sum comes to 5951, but from when? Admittedly, this is nothing but speculation, but it is what we are currently limited to. It will have to be for someone else to figure out the mystery of the numbers, it certainly is not for me to do.

If my calculations are not good and valid for all nations, know that everything has been calculated by the celestial lessons, by association of emotions inculcated at certain hours given to me by the emotions of my ancient progenitors.

But the abuse of time, Oh Serene King, require that such secrets and enemies are not demonstrated, except by enigmatic sentences having only a single sense and single meaning, without anything ambiguous inserted or any ambiguous calculation. But I was obsessed to cover them under a cloudy obscurity, approaching in the sentence of one of the thousand and two prophets since the creation of the world, the calculation of the Punic chronicle of Joel: I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH, YOUR SONS WILL PROPHECY AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHECY. But such Prophecy proceeded from the mouth of the Holy Spirit, the three of which are the sovereign and endless power, joined with the celestial in some number to predict great and wondrous adventurers.

As for myself, I do not allocate such a title to me. I am not like God. I confess that such knowledge comes from God, to Him I render thanks, honor and immortal praise. I have put in here no divination coming from FATE. Rather all comes FROM GOD, AND FROM NATURE, and the most part accompanied with the movement of the celestial lessons. Much like seeing in a burning mirror with obscured vision I saw the great, sad and wonderful events and calamitous adventures to fall on the principle cultures. Firstly, of the temples of God. Secondly by those who, sustained by the earth, give themselves up to such decadence, with such a thousand other calamitous adventures, as by the lesson of time, will certainly happen.

Here, immediately before he starts his first-time line, Nostradamus makes several most important points. Some of the times are determined by celestial movements, or astrology and have been timed by planetary positions, by planets in signs of either natal or transit charts. Knowledge of astrology is therefore important to an understanding of the quatrains, which comprise the bulk of Nostradamus’ work.

In addition, he gives a rationale why the events happen. First, it is the Churches that causes the events. Second, it is the people who, believing they are of the earth and only of the earth will cause the thousand events he predicts. Many of the evils he saw will come because of the faithless society that has developed in our day, our secular society. Maybe he is wrong, but quite possibly he is right. I am certainly not prepared to pass judgment on this.

That said, I will point this out. Most of the churches of Christendom are guilty of massive crimes against humanity. The Catholic Church by itself is guilty of the trials and tribulations imposed by the Inquisition, one of the vilest institutions ever known to men. People may claim that the Protestant churches are much purer, but I am afraid that in so many ways the various Protestant churches are just as guilty of crimes as the Catholic Church is. When a church claims that all one has to do is to believe, or to receive the sacraments, to be saved, and that it is not what one does for one is damned by their own actions no matter what, I am afraid that they open the door to great evils. People in my own country will slam me for saying this, but the election of Donald Trump was fueled in part by the power of the churches and their greed for power, not their desire for righteousness or love. And the evils that humans do to their fellow humans are not limited to just Christians, for Jews and Muslims are just as vile, just as evil, just as arrogant in their own righteousness and the ignoring or justifying of their own evils as Christians are.

Now, atheists love to claim that their morality is much superior to that of the religious, for they strive to do what is right and just while the churches and believers try to justify their own evil and crimes. But while the atheists in many countries are good and honest people, I find that their claim is not due to any moral superiority on their part but rather due to an inability to obtain power. For when atheists achieve power they are just as capable of evil and have performed crimes that rank right up there with the Inquisition, and in two instances they did worse than the inquisition. I just need to mention the names of atheistic leaders who have committed horrendous crimes: Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonoid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un and the nastiest of them all, Pol Pot.

Finally, he states that the sentences have a single sense and a single meaning, nothing ambiguous included. That is, of course, how he saw it; for each quatrain he wrote there was a specific message meant. Of course, some of the quatrains deal with events of such commonality that they could apply to any such action, for those we may never know exactly what Nostradamus meant. But others are definitely directed towards one person, event, time, or place. There is always something singular, something specific, about each of the quatrains. If there is any ambiguity on an accurate quatrain (for it must be remembered that not all of what he wrote will occur), it is usually the fault of the translator and commentator. In this book of translation and commentary, it is my fault!

Because God will look at the long sterility of the great dame, who will then conceive two principle children.

This is the beginning of his first time-line. The importance of getting the accurate beginning cannot be denied. It is the key to the whole prognostication, prophecy, however you want to call it. The whole interpretation flows from this, the first statement. Get it wrong and you are very likely to get the entire interpretation wrong, you will not be able to fix it. So getting it right is of absolute importance.

Most interpreters who tried to interpret this usually placed this around the time of Nostradamus, either during his life or soon after. Leoni, whose criticisms of Nostradamus was the assertion that he was so wrong or vague most of the time, followed this school claiming, as did most who attempted this, that the line referred to the time around the life of Nostradamus, though he does admit to his speculations the French Revolution, Democracy, Communism, and Fascism. He thought that Calvinists or Lutherans were likely candidates, though he was of the opinion that the Great Dame referred to a queen of France, likely Catherine de Medici and he seriously considered Mary Stuart.

My choice to start the interpretation is, to put it mildly, unique. And it is based on a few facts. As much a monarchist as Nostradamus was, he was first and foremost a Francophile, a lover and follower of all things French. This includes the French nation. His quatrains came out mainly as a set of predictions with a number of warnings to France mixed in. Everything revolved around France. Consequently the Great Dame would have to be something exceedingly important in the annals of France itself. And, as I read the riddle, it would not be something that started during the time of Nostradamus but years, even centuries later. In other words, this would be the beginning of a very important sequence of events, events that would ultimately change humanity. At least that is how I read Nostradamus’ thinking in this epistle.

In the prophecies, Nostradamus refers to governments as either male or female. Male governments tended to be monarchies while female governments tended to be democracies or republics. However this was not definite as he sometimes referred to monarchies as females and democracies as male. What was definite is that in the times he lived, men were considered to be efficient, while women were emotional. Even today, there is a basis of truth to this (though I will be the first to point out that this is not an absolute truth, just a relative one). Of course, this was in no way complimentary to efficient governments or derogatory to inefficient (or emotional) governments. Many an efficient government Nostradamus would condemn with great authority, such as the Nazi government whose efficiency even we condemn (the Nazis were very efficient in their brutality and barbarism), while many inefficient governments that was governed based on the whims of the populace won his praise. It was the moral nature of the government, not its efficiency, which drew Nostradamus’ praise or condemnation. But assuming that we are talking about a government, then why did Nostradamus use the words “Great Dame”? There can be only one reason for this. The dame would be an emotionally driven government, lacking in efficiency. But we have a government that was called not a dame but a great dame, so the emotional drive, the inefficiency, is reaching a high water mark, so to speak. The conclusion is inevitable: The great dame is a government that is so inefficient, so hopeless, maybe even so immoral as well, that it was a government just waiting to die.

The French Bourbon Monarchy is that government. Nostradamus never really liked any of the members of the Bourbons, a family he viewed as corrupt. As far as Nostradamus was concerned, Henri IV, the first Bourbon king of France and probably the greatest French king, was a turncoat whose true loyalty in the end was to his own lusts. Louis XIII was a weak monarch whose prime minister, Richelieu, was a warmonger. I suspect that Nostradamus also blamed Louis XIII for Mazarin, the prime minister during Louis XIV’s minority. Of course, he was none too thrilled with even the most glorious of the Bourbon monarchs, Louis XIV, who was all too willing to go to war throughout his reign, to his final regret. Louis XV did try to rule responsibly for a while, but then he simply gave up, turned himself over to his pleasures, supposedly stating: “After me, the deluge.” The end was Louis XVI, the most inept; he was so bad at the kingship he was incapable of even being a king! Wavering and indecisive in nature, he was more given to hunting and pleasure than in governing the country.

There are two ways to look at the two principle children. The first way, these principle children would be actual important children of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette: Louis Charles, the Duc de Normandie, later the Dauphin and even later called Louis XVII by monarchists, and Marie Thérèse Charlotte, known as Madame Royal. The other way, the two principle children were the governments that took over from the ancien regime: The National Assembly, later renamed the National Constituent Assembly of 1789-1791, and the Legislative Assembly of 1791-1792. A choice for the reader, but either, or both, can work. Either way, the meaning of the prophecy remains the same.

But she, being adjusted by the rashness of the Age of Death, in peril in the eighteenth year and not being able to pass the thirty sixth year...

To understand the eighteenth and the thirty sixth years of the passage, four principle dates are of concern to us: First: Louis was born August 23, 1754. Second, he was crowned in Reims France May 10, 1774. Third, , he fled and was captured in Varennes in June of 1791. Fourth and finally the monarchy was officially dissolved by the National Assembly in September of 1792.

On June 21st, 1791, Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, secretly tried to flee. Discovered and captured in Varennes, they were forcibly returned to Paris on the 26th. This marked the end of the power of the monarchy. Prior to this, Louis had at least some constitutional power. With this event, the National Assembly was encouraged to take full power away from the monarchy. The life of the great dame was over; complete power was now in the hands of the National Assembly. This occurred in the 36th year of Louis life, the power of the monarchy was crushed as a result.

The monarchy itself continued on for a little longer; but only until September of 1792, at which time the National Assembly declared the monarchy over. One month earlier, Louis had been arrested and was being held prisoner. He was in great danger of being executed and would indeed be so executed a few months later. September of 1792 ended an eighteen (18) year reign, at which point his life was in great danger.

…in peril in the eighteenth year and not being able to pass the thirty sixth year…. Louis lost the monarchy during the eighteenth year of his reign while he was under arrest and being prepared for a trial for treason. All power had been taken away from him in the 36th year of Louis’ life. These two critical events help to solidify the claim that it is the monarchy of Louis XVI that is the Great Dame.

...will bear three males and one female, and of these two will not have had the same father, so great will the differences between the three be, but the three will be united and in accord so that the four parts of Europe will tremble.

By the least of age, the Christian monarchy will be sustained and augmented, sects elevated and suddenly cast down, the Arabs pushed back, kingdoms punished and new laws promulgated.

Of the other children the first will occupy the furious crowned lions whose paws are held over intrepid arms.

The second, accompanied, will descend into the Latins, that a second furious trembling is seen descending from Mount Jovis to mount the Pyrenees.

The Ancien Regime will not be transferred. A third inundation of blood will occur, and for a long time Mars will not be in Lent.

Four governments came into being, successively. Nostradamus recognized the truth of the four governments, refusing to accept a change of form as a difference of government. The first three were the three sons, so-called because of the aggressive and assertive influence they had not only in France but throughout the world. The daughter would be a reactionary government, weak and without any real influence in the course of events.

The first government was the Committee for Public Safety under the leadership of Robespierre. Concerning Nostradamus’ remark about this government; his remark about the crowned lions whose paws rest on intrepid arms refers to a furious struggle that dominated the counsels of the government. Note that Nostradamus used the English Lion instead of the French Lyons or the Latin Leos, this is because the struggle was with the British. The British sent troops to oppose the Committee and support the French Royalists, the main direct confrontation occurred in the city of Toulon; but the British fight, while bold and fearless (intrepid), was a defensive one, dependent to a large degree on the support of other nations and support from the sea. The initiative rested with the Committee for Public Safety.

The second was the Directory with the five Directors who were so incompetent in all things except making war. This government had its great victories in Italy during the War of the First Coalition. It was this war that saw the rise of General Napoléon Bonaparte (accompanied is a reference to Napoléon’s upcoming government). His victories in Italy are here mentioned. From Italy where Mount Jovis is to the Pyrenees between France and Spain, the French were victorious.

A quick note: Leoni, who was convinced that this was supposed to be around the time of Nostradamus, used Napoleon to show how wrong Nostradamus was. His statement: “The second son will perform the famous feat of Hannibal, to take his army across the St. Bernard Pass into Italy. Napoleon Bonaparte did this in 1800, and seems to have been the only other military leader of note in history to do so. (In fact, Napoleon accomplished many of Nostradamus’ fantastic odds and ends intended for royalty.)” What Leoni did not catch was that it was not royalty that was intended to fulfill this, but Napoléon who would do it. But then, Leoni started his interpretation several centuries too early to catch onto this fact.

The youngest government, the “least of age” was the one that came last, the third government. This government was Napoléon. Napoléon would overthrow the directory and become the effective ruler of France, creating first the Consulate and later the Empire. But these were simply two different forms for the dictatorship of Napoléon – Nostradamus did not care whether it was the Consulate or the Empire for though the form changed the reality, the substance that Napoléon was the government, did not. Nostradamus says a lot about this government for it was such a dynamic government. Before he accomplished the coup that overthrew the Directory, he penetrated deep into Egypt, the Arab lands, driving the opposition back quite successfully. After establishing the Consulate, he signed the concordat with the pope, reestablishing Catholicism as the official religion in France. But he also enforced the principle of tolerance, an enforcement that was lacking before he took over. The laws mentioned is the great unified legal code of France: the Code Civil, known by its alternate name the Code Napoléon, on which his chief contribution rests. Towards the end of his reign, he sent his armies into Spain where he set up his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king. True to what Nostradamus said, Napoléon’s reign was a violent one: it is not for no reason that the wars of the time were called the Napoléonic Wars.

Note that Nostradamus points out that the three sons are united and in accord so that the four parts of Europe will tremble. This is the literal truth for from the days of the rise of the Committee for Public Safety to the abdication of Napoléon, it was almost the entirety of Europe against the nation of France. And France kept winning. It did not matter if the French government was the radical Committee for Public Safety, the reactionary and warlike Directory or the efficient government of Napoléon, France kept winning and, while they were winning, were considered to be a danger to all of Europe.

The fourth government, the daughter, was the Ancien Regime restored. Nostradamus points out it was not transferred, a significant point as the heir was Napoléon’s son. Yet note the use of the daughter, the mark of inefficiency: Louis XVIII was a fool of a ruler, whose stupidities removed the Code Napoléon that France loved, restored the nobility to its preeminence and re-established the inefficiencies and corruption of the Ancien Regime. This made the French long for the days of Napoléon. Napoléon obliged them with the “one hundred days,” and another pouring of blood occurred.

And the girl will be given for the conservation of the falling Christian Church. She will be dominated by the pagan sect of the new infidels. She will have two children, one faithful, the other unfaithful, by the confirmation of the Catholic Church.

We have here three governments. The girl is the restored monarchy, restored after the end of the hundred days. The children are the second French Republic, the second French Empire and the Third Republic. However, keep in mind that Nostradamus refused to recognize a difference in form as a different government; it is factual that the Second French Republic and the Second Empire were fundamentally the rule of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte. So realistically we have only three governments, the restored Bourbon monarchy, the government of Louis Napoléon and the first true republic of France, the Third French Republic.

The restored Bourbon monarchy after the 100 days is the girl because it was very inefficient. It depended on the three monarchs who ruled. Louis XVIII, once reinstated, at least honored the Code Napoléon, recognizing that if he did not he would lose his throne. He did this not out of a sense of commitment or duty or even a sense of it being right but rather out of a sense of the fact that he had to do it otherwise he would lose the throne yet again. Unfortunately his successor Charles X tried to follow the ancient ways, restore the Ancien Regime and conform to the Catholic Church. However the real power rested with the bourgeois and the secularists, the new infidels because while they gave lip service to the principles of Christianity and monarchy, they ignored their messages because they interfered with their own gain. Enraged by what Charles was trying to do, they deposed him and elevated the Orleanist house of Louis-Philippe. Under Louis Philippe, the last Bourbon ruler, the final break occurred. Abandoning all pretense of royal government, Louis Philippe allowed a truly constitutional monarchy to be established. Through the Tri-Color and the return Napoléon’s corpse, he tried to bring back a bit of the glory and respect of France. By abandoning the way of the Nobility, he allowed the bourgeois to gain complete control of the government. And when Louis-Philippe tried to abandon the principles he had been elevated upon and in his own way restore the Ancien Regime, he was similarly deposed, giving birth to the first of the two children.

The two children are the two governments that came after the restored Ancien Regime. The governorship of Louis Napoléon, through both the Second Republic and the Second Empire, was the faithful child because it was tied to the Catholic Church. The Third Republic was the unfaithful child because it adhered to the principles of the French Revolution and secularist principles instead of the Catholic Church or Christianity.

The other who, to his great confusion and late repentance will want to ruin, will set up three diverse regions. The Roman, the German and the Spanish which will make various sects by the martial hand. Abandoning the 50th and 52nd degree of height, will pay some homage to religions long ago north of the 48th degree of height. First by vain timidity, then the west, the center then the east will tremble. Such will be their potency that what they make by peace will survive their belligerent conquests. Their nature will be equal, but greatly different in creed.

In one of the ways that has confused commentators, Nostradamus is making a statement about the Third French Republic. He is here placing blame on the Third French Republic, declaring that it will set up governments in three diverse regions. To Nostradamus, the republic is to blame for the rise of the fascist governments, which occurred in the very states Nostradamus mentions. And surprisingly there is a lot of truth to this. With such French thinkers as Theodor Fritsch, Paul Anton de Lagarde, Joseph de Maistre, Charles Maurras & Georges Sorel developing the principles, along with the diplomat Joseph-Arthur, comte de Gobineau and journalists like Maurice Barrès supporting it, it is not surprising that it developed. It is true that other thinkers also had a major hand in developing it, the German born Friedrich Nietzsche played a major role in developing the principles that the Nazis would use in Germany after all. But the focus of Nostradamus was France, after all, it was the French that Nostradamus paid most attention to. The French thinkers all looked back to the glories of the Ancien Regime, little realizing that its days were over. Either that, or they did not care.

But the setting up of governments was not just by the principles of fascism. It was also done directly. This was not so true for the government of Mussolini as France played very little role in the rise of Il Duce, other than fighting in the same war that saw Mussolini fully develop his political ideas. But keep in mind what France did in regards to Germany and Spain, there the intervention was much more noteworthy.

It is interesting to note that Nostradamus here says not the Italian but the Roman, exactly how Benito Mussolini would see it – he was restoring the Empire of Rome! Still, the main influence of Mussolini was the works of Maurras, Maistre and Sorel, though others also influenced his thinking.

Germany suffered the indignity of the Versailles Treaty, imposed by a victorious France; this would lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler. So even Clemenceau, mighty though he was, helped to develop the German side of this horror. In copying the principles of Fascism that Mussolini used, Hitler was also copying the principles of Fritsch and Lagarde though in this case he was goaded on by the despair that slammed into Germany thanks to the Versailles Treaty.

Both Hitler and Mussolini would support Francisco Franco to establish the third fascist government, that of Spain, while France would support the opposition, little realizing that the opposition was leaning so strongly towards the communism of Joseph Stalin. But more than that, by opposing Franco, France assured that he would turn to and design his government along similar lines that Germany and Italy had before him. This would harm France when, in the days of 1940, France dared not pull troops from the Spanish boarder because of Franco.

As another display of Nostradamus' understanding of events, the three fascist governments were named by him in the exact order that they would eventually establish themselves “The Roman, the German and the Spanish.”

The 50th and 52nd degree of latitude refers to the cities of Amsterdam and Brussels. In embracing fascism, Italy, Germany and Spain would reject the Republican and human principles that the Netherlands and Belgium first established centuries ago, the same principles that the three countries supposedly embraced. An interesting aside noted by Nostradamus was that the three states mentioned would return, somewhat, to ancient religions when they established their various fascist government. This was especially true in Nazi Germany which established a partial restoration of the ancient Germanic gods, which amounted to a sort of a happy paganism. The other two would return to a sort of ancient version of Catholicism, though Spain’s was more moderate than the Catholicism of Italy. It is also true that Hitler controlled almost all of Europe, lacking only Britain, Sweden, Switzerland and the nations of the Iberian Peninsula. France (west) trembled during the initial onslaught of Hitler. Later the Balkans (center) trembled before the full weight was thrown against the Soviets (east).

Nostradamus was correct about what the three fascist governments succeeded in doing. Their successes in peace proved to be enduring, even surpassing the end of their governments. In Germany, Hitler ended the ancient monarchies that had endured even through the Hohenzollern reign, he was the one who first truly unify the German country. He also ripped up the infamous Versailles Treaty, even the end of the Second World War did not see this treaty resumed. He rejoined the Rhineland and the Saar regions back into Germany through basically peaceful means and built the Autobahn, the road network of Germany. In Italy, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaties with Pope Pius XI, establishing an independent Vatican City and ending the self-imposed exile of the popes. In Spain, Franco would rule a long time, at the end establishing, peacefully, the democratic monarchy which survives to the time of this writing.

In temperament the three governments were very similar: Top-down control over all, propaganda, the stiff armed Roman salute, support for business and capital at the expense of the people, a strong military, imposition of their ideas by force and an absolute unwillingness to let any ideas other than their own be propagated! But in creed the three governments were very different. Hitler’s faith had very pagan leanings, his “Positive Christianity” was so devoid of Christian doctrine that it is not recognized by the other churches as being Christian. Mussolini, while Catholic, leaned more towards the ideology and faith of the ancient Romans. Francisco Franco had a weird blend of Catholicism and nationalism, similar to Mussolini’s but without the ideology and faith of zealous Romans.

I will here remind you that Nostradamus is not yet talking about the fascist governments actually existing. He is merely blaming the third French Republic for their eventual arising, as well as giving a basic description of the consequences. He is also placing some blame on the second French Empire, as will be seen below, but he is here placing primary blame for the three governments on the Third French Republic.

After this the sterile Dame, of greater power than the second, will be received by two peoples. By the first made obstinate by those who had leadership over all. By the second, and by the third, which extends their forces towards the circuit of the east of Europe. In Pannonia they will be overwhelmed and slaughtered. By marine sail they will extend their power in the Adriatic. The Germanics and Myrmidons will succumb and the barbaric sect will be afflicted in the Latins and driven out.

We have now advanced the time-line. Here Nostradamus talks about the rise of two basically inept monarchies, stronger in power than the “second” which was the restored Ancien Regime that fell to Napoléon during the “hundred days.” Note that Nostradamus says that two peoples embrace this sterile dame. The peoples are the German and the Italian peoples. The establishment of the German Empire under the house of Hohenzollern and the Italian Kingdom under the house of Savoy, means that the vain dream of glory and monarchy as a road to power is a sterile government. And it is true that these governments were ultimately futile. They succeeded in unifying their countries, albeit imperfectly, yet they failed to provide any real long term leadership or true benefit their people. In fact, it was worse in the German Empire, many of the ancient states kept their ancient monarchies.

Note that Nostradamus indicates that the first monarchy, the Italian monarchy, would be made “obstinate by those who had leadership over all.” This has to be a reference to the ancient Romans who had dominion over one of the largest empires ever, nothing else fits. In the middle ages, it would certainly be taught that ancient Rome dominated all, this explains why Nostradamus wrote it this way. It is factual that during the reign of Victor Emmanuel III of the house of Savoy, Benito Mussolini gained control of the Italian nation and tried to restore the ancient Roman Empire.

Note Nostradamus’ use of the second and the third to refer to Germany. He is here referring to the Second and Third Reich’s. Both times Germany fought major wars extended deep into Russia, losing both wars. Pannonia, mentioned here by Nostradamus, was an ancient roman province that was located in approximately the northern part of what was Yugoslavia. This delayed Germany’s thrust into the Soviet Union, perhaps fatally to Nazi interests. But Hitler still thrust his forces to the eastern ends of Europe, where they were stopped. Soviet forces slowly thrust them back. In 1944-45, accompanied by Tito’s Yugoslav forces, Soviet forces utterly broke the German army in the east. It must also be noted that in 1943, German forces went into Sicily to assist Mussolini’s government in the defense of Italy from the Allied advance. Hitler did not think much of the Italian soldiers. But after Mussolini’s government fell and Italy switched sides, Hitler sent his soldiers to occupy Italy and to rescue Mussolini. The Italians rose, almost to a man, and fought as savagely as they could to drive the Germans out of their country while the Allied forces slowly pushed up the Italian peninsula.

This is, however, merely a description of the sterile dame.

Then the great empire of the Anti-Christ will begin in Attila and Xerxes, and will unleash a great innumerable host, so that the coming of the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the 48th degree, will make a transmigration, chasing out the loathing of the Anti-Christ who will make war against the royal one who is the great Vicar of Jesus Christ, and against his church, and its reign FOR A TIME AND TO THE END OF TIME.

Of key interest here is this note: we are not advancing the time-line. Instead, we are merely discussing what Nostradamus claims happens after the arising of the Italian Kingdom and the German Empire.

The final event is the great Kingdom of the Anti-Christ. Nostradamus places it in the lands of Attila and Xerxes. Attila the Hun ruled an empire that was in constant conflict with the Romans. At its height, it stretched from the Rhine and along the Danube all the way into the Caucasus, modern day Ukraine, to part of modern day Kazakhstan. The kingdom of Xerxes is the Persian Empire, which stretched from modern day Turkey down to Egypt and east through Persia to the Indus River in Pakistan. This ties with biblical prophecy which places the origin of the final threat in approximately the same area. The Anti-Christ will wage war against the kingdoms of Christianity. According to Nostradamus, he will eventually be defeated, but there will be a long war before his empire is destroyed.

This leap was done deliberately by Nostradamus, for purposes of obscurity.

Before this there will be a solar eclipse, the most obscure and terrible, which is ever seen since the death and passion of Jesus Christ. It will be in the month of October when the great translation will be made, and such will it be that will believe that the earth has lost its natural movement and will be plunged into an eternal and perpetual darkness. In the spring there will be omens, and thereafter extreme changes, changes of posts of reigns, great earthquakes, with the birth of the new Babylon, miserable daughter augmented by the abomination of the first holocaust. It will last for only seventy three years and seven months.

Afterwards there will issue from the stock which had remained sterile for so long, proceeding from the 50th degree, one who renews the whole Christian Church.

This is an interesting paragraph that is not a leap, neither is it an advancement of the timeline. Instead this concludes one of the most convoluted sections of Nostradamus’ epistle.

He had advanced the timeline to the establishment of the German Empire and the Italian Kingdom. He stated the final direct consequence of the embracing of the “sterile government” of monarchy that both Germany and Italy embraced, the destruction of both countries through what we would call the Second World War. He then leapfrogged saying what the ultimate consequence would be, the arising of the empire of the Anti-Christ. Here, he says what must be completed before the arising of the Empire of the Anti-Christ. Though he does not advance the timeline, he does in a way, but only because the event he now describes begins before the next real advance of the timeline. It is convoluted, so bear this in mind.

Before the kingdom of the Anti-Christ, the course of Communism must be completed. The October Revolution occurred in October 1917 according to the Julian calendar which Russia used at that time, the calendar Nostradamus knew and understood. This was November 1917 according to today’s Gregorian calendar. The power of the Communist government was augmented by the deadliness of the First Holocaust, the First World War. The perpetual darkness and solar eclipse was the complete rejection of religion and the embracing of atheism and materialism by the Soviets. The very Christian sentiments of Nostradamus were revolted by these principles that the Communist leadership embraced. In fact, many people thought that the October Revolution foretold a dark time, a time when Communism would eventually swallow the entire world, plunging all into perpetual darkness and decay. Seventy three years, seven months later, the first free election in ages occurred, in June 1991. The Soviet people almost unanimously repudiated Communism. Nostradamus wrote that this would have to happen and be completed before the Kingdom of the Anti-Christ can arise.

The Kingdom of the Anti-Christ comes after the fall of the German and Italian empires. But it must also come after the downfall of the Communist Eclipse!

After Communism begins, a great Christian leader will emerge from the 50th degree of latitude in the region long ruled by Communism and renew the whole Christian Church. I am not certain if I am correct, but this almost certainly refer to Karol Jósef Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II. His papacy was certainly a phenomenon. He was born in the city of Wadowice, Poland, which resides at 50 degrees 18 minutes, a perfectly accurate Nostradamian strike (Nostradamus never gives the minutes of a degree, just the degree). This occurred in 1920, three years after Communism had started in Russia. John Paul II was known for his support for the liturgical changes as desired by the Second Vatican Council, even if he did try to give them a conservative expression. He traveled a lot, creating ties between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church, the Jewish peoples, the Dali Lama and other peoples. He even tried to create ties with Islam. It is true that John Paul was also known for his opposition to contraception, the ordination of women and his firm stance on the sanctity of marriage, but these are all traditional Catholic stands that did not contradict Vatican II.

And great peace will be made, union and concord, between some of the children of opposing ideas separated by diverse reigns. So profound will be the peace that the instigator and promoter of military factions will remain chained to the deepest of pits.

The time line finally advances. After the horrors of the First World War, the First Holocaust, the people of the world wanted only peace. The peace after the First World War was very strong. Only in the Soviet Union was there fighting, and that ended by 1921. Peace, however tenuous, was achieved in Europe.

According to all Christian theology, which Nostradamus was a firm believer in, the instigator can only be either the Devil or one of his lieutenants, they are metaphorically chained to the deep pit that is known as Hell.

And the Kingdom of the Rabid, who counterfeits the sage, will be united. The countries, towns, cities, realms and provinces which will have abandoned their first ways to be delivered from captivity will lose their wearied liberty. Their faith will be lost in the perfect religion. They will strike to the left before returning to the right. For a long time the holy temples will be replaced.

Again the time line advances. We have reached the times of Nazi Germany. Using peaceful means, Hitler had achieved the Chancellorship of Germany. The description of Adolf Hitler, the Rabid who counterfeits the sage, is remarkably apt. It must be stated that Hitler was a remarkably intelligent individual; nobody could do what he did, for good or ill, without some measure of intelligence. Hitler was a renowned orator who could work a crowd into a frenzy. He was also very good at reading people, at understanding what motivated them and what compelled them to do certain things. He was, of course, no sage. Definitely he was no scholar, his one book, Mein Kampf people justifiably condemn as being unreadable. Hitler even admitted he was no writer. His writing style was his oratory style; he would be among those at the forefront to point out that the skill which leant itself to good oratory was completely different from the skill that leant itself to good writing. This book could only allowed him to imitate being a sage. To the detriment of the times, as his actions showed, he was full of fury and anger, and, using his oratory to place him in charge of the German people, he used all his abilities to unleash his fury against all he thought harmed him and his people. For this, he was the rabid one.

The countries, towns, cities, realms and provinces are all in Germany. Hitler unified them, for the first time ever. Until Hitler, there was no true unity, not even during the reign of the Kaiser. Bismark may have pulled them together, but Hitler cemented the cracks and the joints. They had abandoned their monarchy for democracy, then, weary of the ruin, turned to Adolf Hitler. They lost their faith in even Protestantism and embraced a “happy” paganism with teachings from the ancient Nordic/Germanic religion, or at least what Hitler interpreted to be ancient Germanic teachings.

The left to right conquests are remarkably accurate, so long as you keep in mind that on a map the left is west and the right is east. Hitler started his “peaceful” conquests by the reoccupation of the Rhineland, which was to the west of the main part of Germany. Then, after the conquest of Austria, he shifted to the east, the right of the map and conquered first Czechoslovakia then Poland. With the war started, he did a fast northern prelude then struck to the western left through the Netherlands and Belgic Lowlands before hitting France hard. Then after a failed attempt to bomb Britain to its knees, he shifted right again, first taking out Yugoslavia and Greece, then taking on the Soviet Union.

Thereafter the great dog, the huge mastiff, will commence the destruction of everything. Temples will be set up again as in ancient times and the clerk will be restored to his pristine position, and he will begin his whoring and luxury, committing a thousand crimes.

The great dog is the German Government of Hitler. Hitler was loud and boisterous, exactly like a large, barking dog. Through the power of his oratory he could and did yell out his positions very loudly and thanks to his understanding and ability to read people very well he was able to take stands that others dared not and succeed at them. His speeches were bellicose and threatening and worried the governments of the world. In so many ways, he was like a loud, barding dog that could bite hard.

The temples were not temples per se, but were buildings and institutions that were dedicated to Nazism and the pan-Germanic beliefs that Nazism preached.

The clerk was most likely Himmler, head of the SS that ran the camps. The SS was the most criminal element of the Nazi government and Himmler, a one-time clerk who rose to prominence and leadership of the SS, lived a luxurious life, even having his own masseur to treat his muscles and problems. Of course, he was not the only one who enjoyed the luxury, leaders of the Nazis would go around robbing museums for paintings, and indulging in a luxurious lifestyle that they claimed was harmful to the average person.

On the eve of another desolation, when she is at her most high and sublime dignity, some potentates and military hands will rise and confront her, removing her double-edged swords. They will leave only her insignia, the curvature of which attracts them to her.

“She,” mentioned by Nostradamus, was the barren dame that had been received by the German and Italian nations as already discussed. Here it is focusing on Germany. The high and sublime dignity refers to the greatest extent that Germany reached in 1942. Then the triumvirate of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, along with the armies those three leaders commanded, hit German power in several actions: El Amman, Stalingrad and the invasion of Western Africa. German strength was permanently thrown on the defensive. Their army and air arms were weakened, unable to launch any more major attacks. The insignia is obviously the swastika.

The people will want to be righteous, not wishing to submit to the opposite with the sharp hand that touches earth.

Even in defeat, Germany kept the pressure on the Eastern Front. They did not want to submit to the Communists. The insignia of the Soviet Flag is the hammer and sickle; the handles of both the hammer and the sickle was always towards the bottom of the insignia (the hand in acute position, which touches the ground). The part about being righteous proved to be a sarcastic, if accurate, joke about how the Germans kept justifying what they did by their claims that they were fighting Communism. It also refers to how the Germans kept not understanding why the British and the Americans never joined them in an attack on the Soviet Union (the name of that time for Russia).

They shall provoke until there is born from the branch that was sterile a long time, one who will deliver the world from the benign and voluntary servitude it had put itself into, putting himself into the protection of Mars, depriving Jupiter of its honors and dignities, all for the free city that is confined and sits in a cramped Mesopotamia. The leader and governor will be thrown from the middle, hung in the air and ignorant of the conspiracy with the second Thrasybulus, who for a long time will have directed this.

The key is the mention of the second Thrasybulus. While there were several in historical content, only one can possibly qualify as the first – the great Athenian general. Thrasybulus was a good commander during the end of the Peloponnesian War, fighting in several important naval engagements under the great general Alcibiades. Some say that his influence gave Athens its victories during this time. After the war, when The Thirty took control, he was sent into exile due to his opposition to the rule of The Thirty. He settled in Thebes. There he became the head of the opposition, gathering a small force of seventy Athenian men. Finally, deeming it right, he lead his small force out of Thebes. He captured Phyle, a small town near Athens. Then, with ever increasing forces joining him, he resisted a large Athenian force that was sent to destroy him, defeated a Spartan force, defeated a larger Athenian force, then defeated the entire Athenian army. The oligarchies appealed for help, but the Spartan king, Pausanias, sided with Thrasybulus. The Thirty were overthrown and the democracy restored.

The only person involved in this timeline who can possibly be the second Thrasybulus is Charles De Gaulle, whose life was very similar. He was the true originator of the ideas of tanks and aircraft used in a combined arms setting to punch holes in defensive lines. His ideas were liked by Guderian who used them to develop the German blitzkrieg. During the invasion of France he was commander of a tank division, the only effective French division when Hitler attacked – his division alone won victories. When France fell, establishing the Vichy government, he opposed it, fleeing in British General Speer’s own plane to England. He became de facto head of all French forces opposed to Herr Hitler and Vichy, directing several minor engagements, including the attack and capture of the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and was influential in others, such as the capture of Madagascar. After D-Day, he returned to France, leading the parade down the center of a liberated Paris. The culmination of his efforts was the disposal of Nazi Germany and the creation of the Fourth French Republic.

Both De Gaulle and Thrasybulus were successful subcommanders who had to leave the lands of their birth due to opposition from their governments: Thrasybulus was exiled, De Gaulle escaped. Later, they gave battle to the conquerors and rulers of their home territories, defeating them, playing a part in the liberation of their countries, though both in the end had important help, the one help unlooked for from Sparta’s Pausanias, the other help given from England and the United States.

It is not true that De Gaulle was the prime mover, as Nostradamus seems to indicate. It is however correct that De Gaulle was constantly thinking of how to liberate this or that portion of France from German control. What Nostradamus predicted did happen, though the emphasis he gave De Gaulle was misleading. That said, it is certainly understandable that he would want to emphasize the first truly strong and vital French leader of considerable ability and understanding (and even pro-French passion) since Napoléon. Not even Clemenceau, the great French leader during the First World War was up to De Gaulle's standard. I think we can, under the circumstances, forgive Nostradamus this misleading and wishful emphasis.

Note the line about the leader and governor. The leader is Hitler, who was thrown out of the world in the middle: the Soviets were to the East, the Democracies were to the West, and Herr Hitler’s Germany was in the middle. He was the leader of the Axis Alliance. The governor is Mussolini, who was strung up in the air after he was executed.

Then the immoderateness of the abominations, with a great shame, will be exposed and manifested in the shadows of the obscured light, and will cease towards the end of the change in reign.

This brings the time-line to the end of the Second World War. By the time Hitler died, the concentration and extermination camps were exposed; the liberating soldiers were appalled that civilized people could perform such atrocities as the Germans did. The reign over the Third Reich passed to Karl Dönitz who, as the Reich President, had the grim task of organizing the surrender of all German forces.

The chiefs of the Church will be backward in the love of God, and several of them will apostatize from the true creed.

This brings us to the period after the Second World War. Vatican II was the great ecumenical council of the Twentieth Century, but the changes it wrought were not acceptable to all Catholics.

One thing must be noted: the leadership of the Catholic Church is not the Papacy. The leadership of the Catholic Church is the collective body of Bishops. The Pope is merely the head Bishop, the Bishop of Rome. The decisions made by the gathering of bishops at an ecumenical council like Vatican II is binding even on popes. John XXIII may have summoned the council, but his successors, Paul VI and both John-Paul’s supported the decisions of the council. Benedict may have tried to distance himself from it but even he was forced to adhere to it. And Francis is striving to go a step or two beyond Vatican II. Yet after Vatican II ended and its changes were implemented by Paul VI, several bishops refused to adhere to the decisions of the enumenical council. These bishops broke from Rome, setting up their own churches, their own papacies, their own catholic orders. Several call themselves traditional, others liberal, none claim any ties to the Roman Pontif. Nostradamus condemns these breakaway bishops in this one line.

More recently a terrible scandal has come to light. The pedophile nature of many priests have long been protected by the bishops of the church. Secrecy concerning the abuse of young boys by priests and the battering of young girls by nuns had been enforced by the bishops for a long time. Often the perpetrators were simply moved to other locations where they could continue their acts with new children. Since the 1980’s, revelation after revelation has revealed the depth of the nature of the scandal and how so many of the bishops preferred secrecy and power over the love of God. Though he wanted to bring a retreat from the principles of Vatican II, Benedict was forced by the mounting scandal to conform to it, much to the dismay of many breakaway Catholics.

This, it seems, brings us up to the present and projects us into the future. From this point onwards of this time-line, it will be difficult to say, with any precision, exactly what Nostradamus meant. He was the one who saw the future, we can only write and guess.

Of the three sects, that which is in the middle, because of its own partisans, will be thrown a bit into decadence. The first, totally in Europe and the most part in Africa, will be exterminated by the third who, moved by the destitute spirit, will lead by luxury to libidinous adultery and lust.

There are many possible candidates for the three sects. The most common interpretation is Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with Judaism being the first. I can understand Judaism being exterminated by Islam in Africa, but this would place them wholly in Europe, which they are not. It has also been posited that this refers to the three Christian sects, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. This does seem to fit somewhat as Catholicism has been thrown into decadence by its own partisans, but that would mean that Protestants have exterminated Orthodoxy in Europe and Africa, which clearly has not happened. However, knowing Nostradamus’ religious nature, it could be that it refers to Christianity, Judaism and Islam, with Judaism being the middle one, Christianity being the first (Nostradamus supporting his own faith) and Islam third. This seems to fit the feel of what is going to happen, though it could refer to the three Protestant sects: Lutherism, Calvinism and Zwingilism.

The common people will support it, chasing away the adherents of the legislators. They will tremble in the realms weakened by the easterners. It will seem as if God the Creator has loosed Satan from the infernal prison to birth the great Dog and Dohan, which will make a great abominable faction in the Churches. The reds and the whites, without hands or eyes, will not be able to judge of it and will be without their potency.

The assertion that the people will chase out the adherents of the legislators indicates a dark future. Even the type of monarchies that Nostradamus supported had a legislator body, drawn from the common people. It appears democracy will be destroyed for a while. Dog And Dohan sounds a lot like Gog and Magog of Biblical fame. While nobody knows with any accuracy where Gog and Magog are located, the best guess puts them somewhere from the Caucasus to the Ukraine regions. This fits the earlier stated area of Attila. The Reds and the Whites are almost certainly Russia and the United States, the Red Star and the White Star. If this assumption is correct, the power of these two nations, long opposed to each other yet still able to maintain peace between themselves (may other nations learn from these two) will lose their ability to influence world events and for a time be relegated to obscurity.

While the last part about the reds and the whites seems insane, given the size and power of both the red star of Russia and the white star of the United States, recent events are strongly indicative. Vladimir Putin has already succeeded in destroying all belief in the Russian legislature, the Duma, while his interference in the election of the United States ensured that a new politician totally beholden to him was elected, or appointed, the leader of that nation. With Republican obstinacy in all legislative matters ensuring that the Congressional situation will only get worse and worse, combined with Putin’s control of the Russian Dumas is nothing but his puppet, their eyes will not be looking towards the situation as it develops until it is too late.

Yes, what I just wrote is my own estimate as to what will happen, based on Nostradamus’ writing and actual historical events. But it certainly fits. May both the Russians and Americans be warned … may they both start acting right before events come crashing upon them.

Putin! I know you will learn of this, so listen carefully. Change the direction you are going. Do not repeat Stalin's mistake and lead your people into a near disaster. And do not be so afraid for your people, they are greater than you realize. You can safely let go and they will thrive. They will even turn and face the real danger, squarely! You do not need to assume power in order to protect them! And you can ignore the oligarchs, they are trying to restore the past, the past is gone! Russia's true greatness is ahead of her, without the Oligarchs! Do what is right instead of what is expedient!

America! My people! My nation! Listen up! You have a history, a great history, as the great nation of the demos, the people. You are losing it! If you keep legislating from pure ideology the nation will suffer greviously for a long time and you will not be able to stop the upcoming disaster till it is upon you! Elect pragmatic people who know how to compromise, deal with others, truly care for you and lead. Stop letting your hatred control you! Otherwise you too face certain disaster.

Then there will be a persecution in the Churches, the like of which has never been. And of this fact will be born so great a pestilence that of the three parts of the world two will be depopulated, so much so that they will not know or ascertain the owners of fields and homes. Grass will grow in some cities as high as the knees. For the Clergy, desolation will be a fact.

Regarding the persecution, does it originate from the church or from outside the church? Based on what is said in another time-line, it is likely that it originates from within the church. But the key question is, which church? Are we talking about a Christian church, or another? The pestilence seems to tie in with the Samarobryn quatrain (Century 6, quatrain 5) which seems descriptive of a biological attack on the northern countries that are around the North Pole. The victims of this attack would include the Baltic nations, Iceland, Greenland, Russia, Canada and at least part of the United States.

Regardless, global warming can and likely will cause massive changes in the farming patterns of the world. Lands that used to be very rich and fertile will become dry and barren. Others may open up but it will take time for people to realize it and start developing it. In the meantime, people will starve.

Martial men will come back from the City of the Sun, from Malta and the Stechade Isles. The great chain of the harbor which takes its name from the marine ox will be opened. A new incursion along the maritime beaches will be done, to deliver the Castillin from the first Muhammedan recapture. Their assault will not be in vain. And the home that once belonged to Abraham will be assailed by those who venerate the Jovialists. And the city of Achem will be surrounded and assailed from all sides by a very powerful force of warriors. Their maritime forces by the Westerners, and the reign will endure a great desolation, their greatest cities will be depopulated, those who enter will know the vengeance of God’s anger.

This section is full of interesting statements with surprising possibilities.

The City of the Sun was a philosophical utopian work by Tommaso Campanella. Written in 1602 after he had been condemned, it describes a world governed by a benevolent theocratic monarchy. That said, it most likely refers to Rome, the home of the "Christian Monarchy" by which the Papacy is also known. The Isles of Stechade are the Isles de la Stæchades, now known as the Hyèras Isles, islands located just south of the commune of Hyèras, the southernmost commune in France. The port that takes its name from the marine ox is Byzantium, the first name of the city that was later known as Constantinople and is now called Istanbul. The sea ox, the actual pass between the seas, is the Bosporus.

The Castillin is a reference to the people of Castile, one of the three regions of the Iberian Peninsula that unified as modern day Spain. This is apparently referring to a fight to free Spain from a recapture of the Iberian Peninsula by Islamic forces. Note that Nostradamus says recapture instead of capture. He obviously knew of the history of the Islamic kingdom of Cordoba and wanted to differentiate between the past and the future.

The Jovialists is an obvious reference to the ancient Greco-Roman religion, still in existence today, though it is now a minor religion without many adherents. It is strongest in Greece but has adherents worldwide. The home of Abraham is, of course, Palestine, modern day Israel and the West Bank. Therefore, a force headed by these Jovialists will assault the land of Palestine. The timing of the prophecy indicates that it is a liberation, much like the Allied assault of Normandy in the Second World War.

There is no Achem, but if you say the sounds of Achem backwards, A CH E M, you get M E CH A, spelled Mecca. This is, of course, just a guess, but it does fit the mood of this part of the time-line and the quatrains by utilizing the anagram principle that Nostradamus used so frequently. Accompanying this is a claim that their (Orientals) maritime forces (built?) by the westerners (which is certainly happening now), along with their populations, will be decimated. The part about God’s anger seems to indicate nuclear radiation, at the very least.

The sepulcher of such great veneration will be and remain opened to the eyes of heaven, the Sun and the Moon. The holy place will be converted into a place for a herd large and small, and adapted for profane substances. Oh, what a calamitous affliction will pregnant women bear.

The Sepulcher is obviously the Holy Sepulcher, where the devoted believe Jesus was buried for several days. The rest seems to be self-explanatory.

Finally the principal Oriental chief will be conquered by the Northerners and Westerners, and most of his people will be put to death, overwhelmed or scattered. The children of several unions will be imprisoned. Then will be accomplished the prophecy of the Royal Prophet, LET HIM HEAR THE GROANING OF THE CAPTIVES, THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER THE CHILDREN OF THOSE DOOMED TO DIE.

Based on the quatrains, it sounds like the Oriental chief is Islamic. If so, he is certainly a hypocrite who only gives lip service to Islam’s Koran without actually following it. But note that he is called the Principal Oriental Chief. A chief could only be a principal chief if there were other chiefs involved, much as Agamemnon of Trojan War fame was the principal chief of the Achaean (Greek) chiefs whose numbers also included Achilles, Aias, Menelaus and Odysseus. This strongly indicates an alliance of Islamic states dedicated to imposing their will upon the rest of the world. Consequently, this one would be like Agamemnon the “First among equals.”

The Northerners usually means the Russians, I see no reason for it to be any different here. The Westerners are obviously the peoples of the United States. It sounds as though the Reds and the Whites, unable to influence world events for a while thanks to their own actions and their own blindness are back in action, unified again as they were during the Second World War. When they oppose each other or try to interfere with each other, the world suffers. When they are united in common purpose, nothing can stand in their way.

What great oppression will then fall upon the Princes and Governors of Kingdoms, especially those which will be maritime and Eastern, who’s many tongues will be intermingled: the tongue of the Latins, and of the Arabs, via punic communications. And all the Oriental Kings will be hunted and exterminated, but not completely, by means of the forces of the Lords of Aquilon, and because of the nearness of our age, by the three secretly united in their search for death, insidiously ambushing each other. This renewed Triumvirate will last for seven years, so the renown of the sect will be extended around the world, and sustain the sacrifice of the holy and immaculate host.

Then the two Lords of Aquilon will be victorious over the Orientals and such will be the noise made that all the East will tremble in terror of these two brothers, who are not brothers of the north.

The Lords of Aquilon is interesting. Aquilon is a French word for northern, the one Nostradamus constantly uses. Due to what these Lords do, I have deliberately kept the French term so as to distinguish it from other northern alliances. The way Nostradamus wrote it: Then the two Lords of Aquilon will be victorious over the Orientals and such will be the noise made that all the East will tremble in terror of these two brothers, who are not brothers of the north, indicates an alliance, one of great power that will inevitably drive out and destroy the Anti-Christ.

The northern nations can be several. Most modern interpreters take this to mean Russia and the United States. This is certainly likely as it does tie in with the Reds and Whites earlier in the epistle. But it must be noted that the United States is traditionally considered part of the west. Nostradamus has usually called it the west when dealing with this country. Also, there are other countries that can fulfill the title of a lord of the north. Canada, while a western nation, is also a northern one. There are also the various countries of Scandinavia. With this still in the future, there are many likely choices. But I hold to the United States being the other nation because the state of Alaska, the northernmost of the 50 states, is as far north as Russia is, making the United States a northern power as well.

Concerning the three, I have but one idea. The third timeline deals with a united southern force. This would refer to three leaders of three separate Islamic nations that dominate the others. It seems that in the end they will have a falling out and fight one another, which can only make the struggle against them that much easier.

This ends the first time line.

And so, Sire, by this discourse I almost put confusion in these predictions, and when they will occur. Also, the strokes in the future for determining the amount of time that follows, it conforms little or not at all to others. Yet it was determined by Astronomical way, and by the Sacred Writings, and thus I could not be in error. I could have dated each quatrain to place down on paper the numbering of time, making the decay apparent. But it would not be agreeable to all, least of all the weary interpreters, sire, until your Majesty granted me power in order to do so, least it give slanderers reason to bite me.

This is an intermediary section between the first time line and the second. Here he states that he must keep the time-line somewhat obscure. The reasoning he gives is obviously false as Henri II could not possibly have protected him, neither could any king of the future. He was plainly protecting his work for posterity, using obscurity to protect it. The statement about “almost putting confusion” (his words) in these predictions is very accurate. It is literally written to confuse. Unless care is given to the interpretation and commentary and unless it is done at a sufficiently late period when enough of the events would have occurred in order to understand it, all attempts to understand the epistle could only result in a complete confusion. Admittedly, I am not completely certain about my analysis of the future portions – as they have not yet come about, there is certainly some confusion about it. The past is an open book, but the future is still unclear.

Nevertheless, concerning the number of years from the creation of the world to the birth of Noah are one thousand five hundred and six years. And from the birth of Noah to the perfect creation of the ark, approaching the universal flooding of the world, passed six hundred years (Whether Solar or Lunar years or of ten blends) I hold what the Sacred Scriptures says, therefore they are Solar years. At the end of these six hundred years, Noah entered the ark to be saved from the ire of the deluge. The deluge was universal, lasting one year and two months. From the end of the deluge to the birth of Abraham, two hundred ninety five years, and from the birth of Abraham to the birth of Isaac one hundred years. And after Isaac came the birth of Jacob, sixty years. One hundred and thirty years passed between the time Jacob was born and the time he entered crossed into Egypt. And between Jacob in Egypt and the exit from slavery, four hundred thirty years. From the exit of Egypt to the building of the temple in the reign of Solomon in the fourth year of his reign, four hundred eighty years passed. And from the building of the temple to the time of Jesus Christ, according to the suppositions of the hierographs, four hundred ninety years were crossed. And thus by this calculation collected from the blessed letters, comes to about four thousand one hundred seventy three years and eight months, more or less. And after Jesus Christ, because of the diversity of sects, I will leave this.

Another biblical time-line of dates is here presented. Like the first one, it does not agree with what is written from the reputed source, the Bible. It also does not agree with the first biblical time line of dates. Since Nostradamus had to have known this, there is a message hidden within the numbers. Just what the message is cannot be determined at this time.

I have calculated and recalculated the present prophecies according to the chain which contains its revolution, the whole by astronomical doctrine and according to my natural instinct. After a while, I found the time when Saturn will enter the 7th of April to the 15th of August, Jupiter on the 15th of June to the 7th of October, Mars from the 17th of April to the 22ndh of June, Venus from the 9th of April to the 22nd of May, Mercury from the 3rd of February to the 24th, after that from the First of June to the 24th, and from the 25th of September to the 14th of October, Saturn in Capricorn, Jupiter in Aquarius, Mars in Scorpio, Venus in Pisces, Mercury in month in Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, the Moon in in Aquarius, the head(?) of the Dragon in Libra: the tail in its sign opposite to a conjunction of Jupiter with Mercury with has a quadran aspect of Mars with Mercury and the head of the Dragon will be with a conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter,...

A series of astrological phenomena is here listed. There are several ways of looking at this. The first possibility refers to literal astrological phenomena. Developing this first idea, Saturn in Capricorn between the 7th of April to the 15th of August, would refer to a time starting the 7th of April and ending on the 15th of August, likely by the Julian Calendar, when Saturn is in the astrological sign of Capricorn. I have examined this information, to the best of my understanding these are phenomena that can never occur on the dates specified – this is true whether one examines it by the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar.

The second possibility does not refer to actual astrological phenomena but dates when it is as if the planets were in the signs listed, meaning that certain acts would occur just as if the planet was in the sign. Developing the second idea, Saturn in Capricorn between the 7th of April to the 15th of August would indicate a time between the 7th of April to the 15th of August when authority is asserting itself, likely in a painful way.

What Nostradamus writes next indicates that the astrological phenomena listed is not literal phenomena but instead descriptive of events that occur during a single specific year. What that year is cannot be determined by me, though I do suspect some time soon before the French Revolution, during the reign of Louis XVI.

The year will be peaceful without eclipse, and will bear all, and will be the start of the persecution of the Christian Church which will be greater than it ever was in Africa, it will last until the year 1792, which they will call the renewal of the age.

This starts the second time-line. It parallels the first one. Again, we start with the French Revolution.

The actual “Persecution of the Church” began in 1789 when the Constituent National Assembly expropriated all church property. It would continue building in strength by taking the appointment of the clergy away from the church, then the suppression of the church itself and the outlawing of monastic orders, resulting finally in the abolition of the “Christian” calendar in 1792 by the establishment of the Republican Calendar. Most commentators talk about the Catholic Church, but all of the churches in France, including remnants of the Huguenot churches, were persecuted. The persecution would eventually lessen after the Directory was installed, though it did not end until the reign of Napoléon.

The year 1792 was a very important year in France, it was the year they did away with the Gregorian Calendar, replacing it with the Republican. It is reputed that someone left open a book of Nostradamus with a knife through this very page pinned to the steps of a monument on the First of January 1792 and that people walked past it wondering what it meant.

After this begins the Roman people will begin to stand up, dispelling some obscure shadows, recovering some of their ancient clarity, though not without great division and continual changes.

With this statement the time-line advances to the unification of Italy, a long drawn out process that finally culminated with the conquest of Rome as the capital of a unified Italian nation. It took years and was not accomplished without faltering steps, lost battles, and other setbacks. Note that Nostradamus says the Roman, not the Italian people. This was because the people themselves were almost unified in their opinion that the seat of government should be Rome. The only thing that stood in their way was the Papacy.

Afterwards Venice will raise its aisles in great force and power so very high, not far short of the might of ancient Rome.

A curious note on translation and interpretation is necessary here. The traditional translation of aisles is wings. But a strict meaning of aisles means, not wings, but rather the sides of a church. As a church rules beliefs, it is the beliefs, not the ability, that is raised at this time. Since aisles is an old French word used in many languages now, I have kept it as it is.

It is certainly true that many Italians wanted to reform Italy, but the remark about Venice is most illuminating. It refers to the rise of Benito Mussolini, which would also play a role in Italy. As is apparent, the time-line has advanced from the unification of Italy to the rise of the Fascist dictator.

At that time the great sails of Byzantium, allied with the Ligustiques and through the support and power of the Northern, will impede them so greatly that the two Cretans will be unable to maintain their faith. The arks built by the Warriors of ancient times will accompany them to the waves of Neptune.

The time-line advances to the two world wars. The Northern here is Germany. Byzantium is, of course, Turkey. I will admit, I cannot identify Liguistiques, though I would not be surprised if it was the Austrian empire, the word seems to have German roots and may be a German based word. However, it is not Ligurian, as most translations have it. The two Cretans refers to the Greeks. The navies of Turkey and Austria were decimated in the first war, the Italian navy was eliminated in the second and both were allied to Germany when they lost their navies.

In the Adriatic great dissension will occur, and what had been united will be separated. The houses will be reduced to that which was, and is, a great city, comprehending the Pampotam, the Mesopotamia of Europe at forty five, the others at forty one, forty two and thirty seven.

This is the present and recent past. That which was united and separated was the state of Yugoslavia. It was separated into tiny separate states. The Mesopotamia of Europe at 45 degrees latitude is Belgrade, once capital of Yugoslavia, now merely the capital of Serbia at 44 degrees, 50 minutes. The others are yet to be determined. But there are indications. Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, Podgorica the capital of Montenegro and Rome are both at 42 degrees latitude. Tirane, the capital of Albania, is at 41 degrees. All these can be considered Adriatic countries. But I can find no indication that there is any capital city on or near the Adriatic located within half a degree of 37 degrees north latitude. That said, it is possible that Belgrade is given predominance and the turmoil of this country merely starts it, the four latitudes could refer to four areas where turmoil continues to exist. For instance, Tiblisi, the capital of the nation of Georgia where great conflict is constantly occurring, is at 41 degrees 43 minutes north latitude, which is most likely 42 degrees for our purpose. Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, is at 41 degrees, 20 minutes, 41 degrees for our purposes. Finally, the last of the revolutions started in Tunisia, it’s capital of Tunis is at 36 degrees, 48 minutes, 37 degrees for our purposes. Nostradamus’ unwillingness to give too much information makes interpretation somewhat hazardous. Nevertheless, these are present conditions and from this, we can make a broad estimate.

Yugoslavia broke apart and the first struggle was between the Serbs who wished to assume hegemony and the Bosnians, the Croats and the Macedonians who wanted their independence. The struggle was fiercest between the Serbs and the Bosnians, but the Serbs got the worst of it, though they continue to agitate against Bosnia and the Serbian nation continues to break up. Belgrade, the one time capital of Yugoslavia, is at 45 degrees.

Albania threw off its communist government and underwent a period of turmoil and tribulation. This resulted in armed uprisings that left the country destitute. To add further fuel to the fire, the nearby territory of Kosovo, part of Yugoslavia/Serbia, has been agitating for independence and incorporation into the Albanian nation. Tirane, the capital of Albania, is at 41 degrees.

Georgia has been in constant turmoil due to certain secessionist impulses played upon by their Russian neighbor. Several short wars have been fought and Georgia has been forced to undergo changes. Of course, the actions of Russia against the breakaway republics is not limited to just its actions against Georgia, it has also targeted Ukraine. But it all started in Georgia. Tiblisi, the capital of the nation of Georgia, is at 42 degrees.

Lately, the entire Arabic world has erupted in revolution, change and turmoil is foreseen for years. The revolts started in Tunisia. Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, is at 37 degrees.

Of these, the second one, the area at 41 degrees, seems to be the most forced. It is possible that Nostradamus missed something. That said, the other three are relatively accurate, with Belgrade and Tunis being almost perfect hits.

And in this time and in these countries the infernal power will act against the Church of Jesus Christ. The potency of the law will be the Second Anti-Christ, which will persecute the church and its true Vicar, by means of the power of temporal kings who, by their ignorance, will be seduced by words that will cut more than any double-edged sword in the hands of the insane.

Here the time-line goes into our future. This second Anti-Christ is not a person, like the Anti-Christ of the first time-line, but a set of laws that persuade national leaders to persecute the churches of Christendom, especially the Catholic Church. Just how bad these laws are is explained by the example Nostradamus gives. Nostradamus is here indicating that these laws will arise in the Balkans, in the Middle East and in Northern Africa, the seats of the uprisings which continue to the time of this writing.

This is in complete accord with an earlier portion of this epistle. In the first time line, Nostradamus says that the Empire of the Anti-Chirst will arise in Attila and Xerxies. This is a reference to the empires of Attila and Xerxies, which, combined, covered the Balkans and the Middle East, up to Egypt and India.

The reign of the said Anti-Christ will last only to the definement of the beginning of the age and the other one in the city of Plancus, accompanied by the ones of Modena, by Ferrera, supported by the Adriatic Liguriens, and of the nearness of the great Trinacrie.

The city of Plancus is most likely the city of Lyon, the great city on the Rhone river in France which he reputedly founded. Trinacrie is an alternate name for Sicily, referring to the Great Sicilian.

Then will pass Mount Jovis, the Gallic Ogmium, accompanies by so great a number that the empire with its great law will be preserved for some time. During this there will be a great shedding of the blood of the innocents by the ones newly raised a little. Then by great floods the memories of such things, as contained in such instruments, will receive an immeasurable loss, even written records, and will delivered through the Aquilonians by the divine will.

The Gaulic Ogmiun sounds a lot like a variant on Ogmios. Ogmios was the Celtic deity of speech. From this, we can take it that a great Frenchman who has the gift of oratory, either superior or at the very least equal to that of Adolf Hitler and Sir. Winston Churchill will lead not only the French but a great host of people against the Muslim invaders. The Aquiloneians seems to tie with the Lords of Aquilon in the first time-line. If so, then the two “brothers of the north who are not brothers” are the ones destined to bring the whole prophecy to its conclusion.

And Satan will be bound. And universal peace between human beings will be established, delivering the Church of Jesus Christ from any tribulation, though the Azas will want to mix in the honey of their malice and their pestilent seductions. This will be near the seventh millenary when the sanctuary of Jesus Christ will no longer be oppressed by the infidels who come from the north. The world approaches the great conflagration, although according to the computations in my prophecies, the course of time goes much farther.

In the first time line, the victory of the northerners was the end of the prophecy. Here, he says that the northerners oppressed the people, they have to be removed from the scene. Here also is mentioned the conflagration as well, though it seems that the conflagration occurs after this time-line is over. This obviously ties with the conflagration mentioned in the Epistle to Cesar.

A very likely interpretation is that Russia, the power of the north, becomes a major oppressor, as seems to be happening right now under Putin. But some time in the future, keeping in mind what the first time line says, it is likely that either Putin suffers a change of heart or he is removed from the scene. Either way, Russia eventually becomes a truly great nation, no longer oppressing other peoples and manages to help remove evil from the world.

There is only one clue as to when is the seventh millenary starts. According to the Hebrew Calendar, this starts 1 Tishrei 6001, which occurs 17 September 2240 (2 September 2240 by the Julian Calendar). Though he was not Jewish, he was descended from Jews. Nostradamus had to have known this.

This ends the second time-line.

Within the Epistle which some years ago I dedicated to my son Cesar Nostradamus, I declared some points openly enough without presage. But here, O Sire, are included several great and marvelous adventures, that those who will come after will see.

This is a very short statement separating the second and the last time-lines.

During this astrological calculation, in conformance with the Sacred Writings, the persecution of the Ecclesiastical people will find their origin by the potency of the Northern Kings joined with the Eastern ones. This persecution will last for eleven years, or a little less, then the chief king of the Northerners will fall.

Here begins the third and last time-line. Unlike the first two, this one deals only with the upcoming disaster, the great war that will erupt soon. The northerners will be united with the easterners. The easterners here probably represents the Islamites, or Muslims. The northerners almost certainly are the Russians.

Naturally, this is speculation at this time. Nevertheless, the assertion that the Russians would tie their lot with the Muslims is not so far-fetched. Before the Second World War, the Soviets all but begged the Western powers to join forces with it to contain the Nazis and protect the Czechs. They were rebuffed before and at Munich. Still the Soviets tried, this time trying to form an alliance in order to defend Poland. With the British and French delaying their efforts, the Soviets, in exasperation, turned to Hitler and concluded a pact that was based on the reality of the time. True, they unleashed the Nazi horror on Europe, but they also gained time and space, maybe saving their country as a result. Might not the West through some stupidity force the Russians into the Eastern camp, repeating, on a far graver scale, the disaster that led to the Second World War?

Of course, with the recent ambitious actions of Putin, it is very possible that this time around Russia will isolate themselves from the rest of Europe. He or his successor may have no other choice but to tie themselves to the Islamic states. Putin is certainly doing his best to make Russia a pariah to most of the world, while he also ties himself to certain Islamic states.

The years fulfilled the events will flow to the meridonal, where the persecution will be even more extreme for the space of three years, through the Apostatic seduction of one who holds absolute power over the military church.

The Meridional is a wind that goes from north to south. From this, it is easy enough to infer that the persecution flows from north to south..

The holy people of God who observes his law, and any order of religion, will be greatly persecuted. So greatly will they be aggrieved that the blood of the true Ecclesiastics will flow everywhere.

Nostradamus emphasizes the persecution of the Catholic Church, but states that all who are Christian, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or any of the Protestant churches, will be persecuted. Note, however, that this may also include true believers of Islam! They too may be persecuted by the leaders of the Islamic world who, like the leaders of Germany during the Second World War, were not truly religious but were instead hypocrites who valued only their own gain.

One of the horrible temporal Kings, by his adherents of law, will be given such praise, because he has shed more of human blood of Innocent Ecclesiastics than anyone has spilled of wine. This king will commit forfeits against the Church. Incredible amount of human blood will flow in the public streets and temples, as if water was raining, and the rivers will be reddened.

As terrible as we deem Adolf Hitler was, it looks as if one of the future upcoming rulers will make Hitler look like a saint in comparison.

In a naval battle, the sea will be reddened, so much so that one king will say to the other: THE SEA IS REDDENED BY NAVAL BATTLE.

This will be the mother of all naval battles. When one considers the scale and distances involved in modern naval conflict, we are likely talking about a worldwide battle.

Then, in the same year, and in succeeding, there will be the most horrible pestilence, made more powerful by the famine that preceded it. Such great tribulations will never have occurred since the first foundation of the Christian Church. It will engulf all the Latin regions, remaining as relics in some Spanish speaking countries.

In addition to the people slaughtering each other and the persecution of the believers – those who truly try to follow their creeds, there erupts first a famine, then a disease. It will hit hardest in Italy. Traces of it will remain in Spain, maybe even Spanish speaking countries in the new world.

Then the third King of the North, hearing the cries of the people of his principle title, will raise a great army and, breaking with the past, will put the most part back into its original state. The great Vicar of the hood will be returned to his pristine state, but desolate, and then left alone, and will find the HOLY OF HOLIES destroyed by paganism and the old and new Testaments will be thrown out and burned.

This is an interesting statement! Three kings, or great leaders, of the north will come. The first (Putin?) will help to start the disasters and is already gone. The second will be a non-entity. But the third will be the first truly honest and skilled governor of his country in a long time. He will be the one who realizes what must be done to end the turmoil that is destroying his country. He will realize just who the real enemy is and take steps to destroy him. He will be unable to restore everything to the way it was, but he will try.

However, there will be a severe consequence. For instance, the Pope, the Vicar of the Hood, regains his seat, yet he will be alone. The Vatican will be all but destroyed. Though not certain in my conclusion, it looks as if the Papacy will at this time fade into a well deserved obscurity.

This northern king seems to be one of the Lords of Aquilon of time-line 1 and the “Aquilonians” of time-line 2. He will not be the only one, but he will be the critical one. Without his decision, the Lords of Aquilon will never succeed in their mission.

After the Anti-Christ will be the infernal prince, and again by the last law, everything, the kingdoms of Christendom, and those of the infidels, for a space of twenty five years, will endure more grievous wars and battles. Cities, towns, chateaus and other structures will be turned, desolated and destroyed with great bloodshed. Married women and widows will be violated. Children broken against the walls of towns. So many wrongs will be done by means of Satan, the infernal prince, that almost the whole world will be undone and desolate.

This has to be the conflagration itself. This, the final wars, will be more destructive than any before, and will last for a number of years.

Before these adventures, some rare birds will cry in the air: HUI, HUI and after a while will vanish.

Have you ever heard a jet aircraft flying overhead? It can vaguely sound like a screaming "Hui" as it rushes past. More about this I cannot say.

After this has lasted a long time, there will be almost renewed another reign of Saturn and a golden age. God the Creator, hearing the affliction of his people, will say: Satan, be bound and cast into the depths of the bottomless pit. Then will begin a universal peace between God and humans, a peace that lasts a thousand years. The Ecclesiastical powers will be strongest, and then undone.

The prophecies end with the establishment of a golden age of peace and prosperity. This does seem to have ties to the Book of Revelations. Yet the last part that refers to the Eccleciastical powers is so obviously something the Catholic Church would want that it seems to be suspect. I believe that Nostradamus included it as a sop to the Catholic Church. However, in this, I admit I could be wrong, especially as he states that the powers will be undone.

All of these figures are the just integration of Divine Writing with celestial visages which are known, by Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, and other combinations, as can be seen by some of the quatrains. I should have calculated much deeper and adapted some even more. But seeing, O Serene King, the censure that would raise so many difficulties, I withdraw my pen to its nocturnal repose.

Nostradamus has already explained this, in a secretive way up above, but he restates it here in brief. He speaks about the censure, the condemnation that he would receive if people knew years and decades ahead of time what would happen. When one considers that the great and powerful often get very angry when they are told that their plans will not succeed, such caution is indeed necessary.

I do not need to describe anything else, so I will simply here let Nostradamus’ own writing end this. Whether what follows is standard hyperbole given to a current king (Nostradamus did write this during the life of Henri II and almost certainly the king read it), whether this is a message to a future king or is meant for both, is beyond my ability to determine.

MANY EVENTS, MOST POWERFUL OF ALL KINGS, OF THE MOST ASTOUNDING KIND WILL TRANSPIRE SOON. BUT I NEITHER COULD NOR WOULD FIT THEM ALL INTO THIS EPISTLE. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO COMPREHEND CERTAIN HORRIBLE FACTS, A FEW HAD TO BE SET FORTH.

SO GREAT IS YOUR GRANDEUR AND HUMANITY BEFORE MEN, AND YOUR PIETY BEFORE THE GODS, THAT YOU ALONE SEEM WORTHY OF THE GREAT TITLE OF MOST CHRISTIAN KING, TO WHOM THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY IN ALL RELIGION SHOULD BE DEFERRED.

But I only request, O Most Clement King, by this singular and careful humanity of yours, to hear only the desire of my courage and the sovereign project which is in obedience to your most Serene Majesty, ever since my eyes approached your solar splendor, which the greatness of my labor cannot attain to or acquire.

From Salon, this 27th of June, 1558.

Written by Michael Nostradamus at Salon in Provence.