Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

Video (Up to 4:20)

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 

Paris, France, 1555. Astrologer and physician Michel de Nostradamus publishes a volume of four-line poems, called “quatrains.”

Readers at the time are confused by the author’s use of multiple languages, word puzzles, and what was even then considered antiquated syntax.

But perhaps even more baffling is the volume’s title, Les Propheties — The Prophecies.

John Hogue, Prophecy Scholar: “Nostradamus had become initially famous as an almanac writer. You’ve got to understand that this is during the time of the printing revolution, and he was one of its first best-selling authors.

And then he embarked on a history of the future, which would look at everything up to the year 3797 AD, nearly 1,800 years from now, and beyond.”

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The Prophecies was initially met with outright skepticism and derision. Many believed Nostradamus to be either a fraud or mentally ill, possibly both, likely due to the fact that one of his verses scandalously foretold of a particularly gory death for Henry II, the king of France.

John Hogue, Prophecy Scholar: Nostradamus made a prediction about Henry II dying in a jousting accident.

Quatrain 35 read that a young lion would face the old in traditional combat. He shall be pierced through a gilded cage. Two wounds made one. The joust happened exactly as he foretold it.

Both men had lions on their shields. Large shards went through the gilded visor of the king. One penetrated his forehead into his brain, the other in between his eye and socket, destroying his eye. And he died of infection of the brain ten days later, an agonizing death.

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After the king’s death, Nostradamus’ reputation as a seer of the future grew rapidly — which was, at the time, not necessarily a good thing.

Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok, Koshertorah School: “It is well-known that Nostradamus concealed the nature of his prophecies, which, at that time, was very politically incorrect — and could have gotten him in a lot of trouble.

Craig Hamilton-Parker, Psychic Medium: “He would come into great conflict with the church if he put himself on a pedestal and be like Noah or Moses or people like this.”

Despite the controversy, The Prophecies eventually became one of the most widely read books in the world. It both astounded and terrified readers with its predictions about dreadful events to come.

Is it possible Nostradamus received his prophetic visions because he was in touch with a higher power? It’s an interesting theory and could help explain how Nostradamus was able to see and know things that would not happen for centuries, things he was trying to warn us about.

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1942. With World War II wreaking havoc throughout Europe and the Pacific, it wasn’t only the latest news from the front lines making headlines but also Nostradamus and his prophecy centering on the rise of a man named Hister.

John Hogue, Prophecy Scholar: “What triggered his international fame was a reference five times in his prophecies about a man named Hister with a Gothic “S,” which has a “T” crossed. Another push, push, nudge, nudge, perhaps, in his work. Hister is the ancient name of the river Danube.

Adolf Hitler grew up on the river Danube. Nostradamus had a pattern of using a place as a person. The river is a code, and the things that are said in the other parts of the prophecies indicate that it’s a man. The man who’s called the captain of greater Germany.”

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Questions

 

Armageddon, Apocalypse. Michel de Nostradamus wrote his prophecies is very clear, straightforward, vernacular, colloquial language. True or false?

Hell, Perdition. Had Nostradamus always written prophecies? Did he make predictions only a few decades into the future?

Catastrophe, Disaster. From the beginning, did people admire, respect and trust Nostradamus?

Storm, Hurricane, Typhoon. In Quatrain 35, two lions wrestled each other in a Savannah. Is this right or wrong?

Flood, Drought, Fire. Did Nostradamus seek fame? Did he want to become famous and admired?

Famine, Hunger, Starvation. Why might he have gotten in trouble?

Pestilence, Locusts. Did Nostradamus use computers and AI to make his prophecies (predictions) of the future?

Religion, Theology. What can you say about “Hister”?
 
 
 
Empire, Imperial. I have heard of Nostradamus. Yes or no?

Kingdom, Realm. Do you think he was genuine, legitimate, or a charlatan, a quack, or fraudster?

Republic. Do you know of other prophets or soothsayers?

Faith, Belief. How might Nostradamus and others made their prophecies?

Utopia, Promised Land. What do you think might happen in the future?

Heaven, Paradise. What could or should people, businesses and governments do?