The Day of the Lord – Part Three

As explained in Part One, the early history of the Jews as revealed in the Old Testament of the Bible, was characterised by a succession of devout men imbued with the spirit of God who came to be known as prophets. They were called prophets because they predicted future events.

But the events they predicted were not confined to their own times. They also wrote about things that would not happen for thousands of years. In fact, they would not occur until the end of the current age of humanity – a time that they called the “Latter Days” or the “End of Days”.

According to these prophets, there would come a time when all of humanity would be afflicted by a series of disasters that would descend on the earth from the skies. It would be a time of terror on the earth caused by torment in the heavens.

This time of terror would begin with an event so terrible that it was called “The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord”, when the sun would be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. For as we find recorded in the book of the prophet Joel:

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come”. (Joel 2:30-31)

This theme of terror and destruction at the end of the age was repeated by Jesus, when he told his disciples:

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken”.  (St. Luke 21:25-26)

But other than referring to these “Latter Days” as the time of the “Wrath of the Lord”, the Old Testament prophets gave no hint as to what the agent of this devastation on earth might happen to be. It was left to St. John to provide additional clues that would help us to understand.

In his book of Revelation, St. John devoted chapter after chapter to the events that would transpire during this time of devastation and destruction. In the 8th chapter, John described seven angels with seven trumpets, each of which signified a particular scourge or disaster.

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass burnt up.

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”  (Revelation 8: 6-12)

So according to the above verses written by St. John, the “star” that he called “Wormwood” would be characterised by the following features:

• It would generate “hail and fire mingled with blood”
• It would burn up “the third part of the trees”
• It would burn up “all the green grass”
• “A great mountain burning with fire” would be cast into the sea
• “The third part of the sea would become blood”
• One third of all the creatures living in the sea would die
• One third of all the ships in the sea would be destroyed
• A “great star from heaven” would fall upon one third of the rivers
• This “great star” would appear in the sky “burning like a lamp”
• One third of the waters would become “wormwood” (bitter)
• Many people would die from drinking these bitter waters
• “A third part of the sun and moon” would be smitten
• “A third part of the stars would be darkened”
• The sun would not shine for three days (a third part of it)
• The night sky would also be dark for three nights

So the question that faces all interpreters of this passage in the book of Revelation is this. Can we identify what “Wormwood” is, based on the above features described by St. John? One man who believed that he could was the French seer Michele de Nostredame, also known as Nostradamus.

In 1555, Nostradamus published a series of prophecies in a book entitled Les Propheties. This book contained references to events that he predicted would occur in the future, and that would culminate in the ending of the Piscean Age.

Nostradamus used the word “century” to describe these prophecies. This term had nothing to do with time or the passing of the years. Instead, it was simply the term he gave to his collection of prophecies, because each “century” contained 100 verses.

Each verse of prophecy, called a quatrain, consisted of four lines with alternate rhymes. So the word at the end of line one rhymed with the word at the end of line three, and the word at the end of line two rhymed with that at the end of line four.

The verses of “The Prophecies” – all 4772 lines of them – were written in old Provincial French. This was a language that was still very close to its Greek and Latin roots, but was quite different from the French language that is spoken today.

This is one of the reasons why so many commentators over the years have struggled to interpret his verses. In addition, they were also filled with anagrams, confusing names and other linguistic riddles, that were designed to confound those looking for simple solutions.

Nostradamus would conceal the names of towns destined to become famous, by using small neighboring towns instead. He would also disguise them by means of popular names or nicknames, or spell them without capital letters.

Nostradamus used these stratagems deliberately in order to hide their meaning, and to ensure that they would only be understood after careful analysis and investigation. Yet despite the fact that many of his prophecies still remain obscure, some are so clear that they cannot possibly be misunderstood.

There was one event in particular that captured his attention, and that was a series of disasters that would befall the earth as a result of “fire from the sky”. Because this formed such a critical part of earth’s future, he devoted nearly sixty verses to this one event, as can be seen from the following:

Century One – Verse 46
Very near Auch, Lectoure and Mirande, a great fire will fall from the sky for three nights. The cause will appear stupefying and marvellous: Shortly afterward the ground will tremble.

Century One – Verse 67
The great famine which I sense approaching will often turn (in various areas) then become world-wide. It will be so vast and long lasting that (they) will grab roots from the trees and children from the breast.

Century Two – Verse 15
Shortly before the monarch is assassinated, Castor and Pollux in the ship, a bearded star: The public treasure devastated by land and sea, Pisa, Asti, Ferrara, Turin under threat.

Century Two – Verse 18
New, unexpected and sudden rain will suddenly halt two armies: From the skies, fire, and a sea of stones, The death of seven suddenly by land and sea.

Century Two – Verse 41
The great star will burn for seven days, the cloud will cause two suns to appear: The large mastiff will howl all night when the great pontiff changes his residence.

Century Two – Verse 43
During the appearance of the bearded star, the three great princes will become enemies: Struck from the sky, peaceful earth quaking, Po, Tiber overflowing, a serpent placed upon the shore.

Century Two – Verse 46
After great misery for humanity, a greater one comes when the great cycle of the centuries is renewed. It will rain blood, milk, famine, war and plague, Fire will be seen in the sky, dragging a trail of sparks.

Century Two – Verse 62
Mabus will soon die, then will come a terrible destruction of people and animals: Sudden vengeance will be seen, A hundred hands, thirst, famine, when the comet will pass.

Century Two – Verse 70
The dart from heaven will make its journey, speaking with death; a great execution. The stone in the tree, the proud nation brought down, A human monster, cleansing, the penalty paid.

Century Two – Verse 81
The city is almost destroyed by fire from the sky: The Deucalion flood threatens again: Sardinia is vexed by the Punic fleet, after Phaeton has left Libra.

Century Two – Verse 91
A great fire will be seen at sunrise, noise and light extending towards the north: Death within the earth, one will hear cries, Death awaits them through war, fire and famine.

Century Two -Verse 92
Golden fire will be seen in the sky on earth: Struck from on high, a marvellous accomplishment: Great slaughter for humanity: The nephew of the great one taken, spectacular death, the proud one escapes.

Century Two – Verse 96
A flaming torch will be seen in the sky at night near the end and the source of the Rhone: Famine, war: relief comes too late, Persia turns to invade Macedonia.

Century Three – Verse 19
In Lucca it will rain blood and milk, shortly before a change of leader: Great plague and war, famine and drought will be seen, far from where the prince and ruler dies.

Century Three – Verse 42
A child born with two teeth in his mouth, stones will fall like rain in Tuscany: A few years after no wheat or barley, to satisfy those who faint from hunger.

Century Four – Verse 67
When Saturn and Mars are equally fiery, the air is parched by a long meteor: From hidden fires a great place blazes with burning heat, Little rain, hot winds, wars, invasions.

Century Five – Verse 62
Blood will rain down on the rocks, the Sun in the East, Saturn in the West: War near Orgon, a great evil seen near Rome, ships sunk to the bottom taken by Poseidon.

Century Five – Verse 90
In the Cyclades, Perinthus and Larissa, in Sparta and the entire Pelopennesus: A very great famine, plague through false dust, lasting nine months throughout the whole peninsula.

Century Five – Verse 98
At the forty-eighth degree latitude, at the end of Cancer a very great drought: Fish boiled in the seas, rivers and lakes, Béarn and Bigorre in distress from fire in the sky.

Century Six – Verse 5
A very great famine caused by pestilence, will extend its length to the arctic pole: Samarobrin one hundred leagues from the hemisphere, They will live without law, free from government.

Century Six – Verse 6
He will appear towards the North, not far from the bearded star in Cancer: Susa, Siena, Boetia, Eretria, The great Roman will die, the night is dispersed.

Century Six – Verse 38
The enemies of peace, the profligate ones, after having conquered Italy: The bloodthirsty king, red will be revealed, Fire, bloodshed, water coloured with blood.

Century Eight – Verse 2
I see Condom, Auch and Mirande, encompassed by fire from the sky. The Sun and Mars joined in Leo, then at Marmande, lightning, great hail, A wall falls into the Garonne.

Century Eight – Verse 10
A great stench will come from Lausanne, but they will not know its source, It will displace people in distant places, Fire in the sky, a foreign nation defeated.

Century Eight – Verse 77
The antichrist swiftly annihilates the three, Twenty-seven years his war will last. The heretics will be dead, captive, exiled; Blood, human bodies, water and red hail covering the earth.

Century Nine – Verse 83
The Sun in twenty degrees of Taurus, a very great earthquake, The great crowded theater will be ruined: Darkness will trouble the sky and the earth, even the faithless will call on God and the saints.

Century Ten – Verse 60
I weep for Nice, Monaco, Pisa, Genoa, Savona, Siena, Capua, Modena and Malta: Blood from on high and the sword for a gift, Fire, earthquake, water, an ill-timed alliance.

Century Ten – Verse 67
A mighty trembling in the month of May, Saturn in Capricorn, Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus: Venus also in Cancer, Mars in Virgo, Then hail will fall larger than an egg.

From the verses quoted above, Nostradamus makes it clear that the agent responsible for the coming global destruction would come from the skies. And he also specifically indicated that the source of this “fire from the sky” would be a comet. (See Century Two Verse 62 above)

it is worth noting that when Nostradamus wrote about the comet, he referred to it in a variety of ways. Among his descriptions were “bearded star”, “great star”, “fire from the sky”, trail of sparks”, “burning torch”, “flaming torch”, “long meteor”, and “dart from heaven”.

He also made frequent references to other phenomena associated with the arrival of this comet, such as “false dust”, “raining blood, milk and stones”, “water coloured by blood”, “great hail”, “red hail” and “hail larger than an egg”.

Most commentators on Nostradamus have failed to understand the significance of his references to such things as “blood” and “false dust”, and why such phenomena can only be produced by comets, and not alternatives like planetary bodies or brown dwarfs.

Comets consist of a solid core, or nucleus, surrounded by a charged field of luminous particles called a Coma. Although comets have two tails, one of ionised gas and one of dust, the main tail of the comet consists of a stream of dust particles that stretch for millions of miles behind the comet.

However, as explained earlier, once the comet passes around the sun and heads back into space, the tail of dust particles that previously was behind the comet now travels ahead of the nucleus, blown by the pressure exerted by the solar wind. So comet tails always point away from the sun.

So in the scenario described by Nostradamus in his quatrains, the earth would first be exposed to the fine dust particles in the tail of the comet. And here it is significant that Nostradamus specifically mentions “false dust”, so as to differentiate this dust from the sky with normal dust.

However, if this dust contained particles of iron ore, they would be coloured red. And when they fell to earth they would cause the sea as well as lakes and other bodies of water to look like blood. Furthermore, these red dust particles would contaminate the water, and cause it to become bitter to the taste.

Then, as the comet drew closer to the earth, it would begin to shower the earth with larger particles, that fell to the earth as fiery hail that Nostradamus described as “great hail”, “red hail”, and “hail larger than an egg”. These blazing missiles would set large swathes of the forests of the world alight.

Finally, as the comet drew closer still, the entire earth would be enveloped in thick, choking dust that would blacken the skies and lead to days and nights of complete darkness. Truly, this would be a darkness that could be felt, just as was described in Egypt during the plagues of Moses.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven: and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.”   (Exodus 10:20-22)

The picture painted by Nostradamus of the appearance of the comet and its aftermath on the earth is bleak indeed. Earthquakes that devastate the land; fiery meteorites that bombard the earth setting fire to forests and vegetation; red dust that poisons the drinking water and causes disease.

An asteroid that plunges into the sea causing tidal waves that swamp coastal cities and kill marine life. Humanity afflicted by famine, war, pestilence and plague. Those spared the destruction of these disasters desperately trying to survive amidst “little rain, hot winds, wars, invasions”.

Although the Coma surrounding the nucleus of the comet will be many times larger than the earth, the asteroid that will strike the earth will be small by comparison. Yet it will still be large enough to cause immense destruction across the surface of the earth.

In his book of Revelation, John refers to this asteroid as a “great mountain”. “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea.” (Revelation 8: 8)

By an interesting coincidence, in writing about a future asteroid that would one day strike the earth, Nostradamus uses the same words that appear in the Bible. While St. John calls it a “great mountain”, Nostradamus refers to it as “la grand montaigne“.

“The great mountain, seven stadia round, After peace, war, famine, flood. It will spread far, drowning great countries, Even those of great age and mighty foundations.” (Century One Verse 69)

Nostradamus gives the size of this “great mountain” as “seven stadia round”. Although the “stadium” was a unit of measurement used initially by the Greeks and Romans, it was still in use in the 16th century, and “seven stadia round” would make this asteroid nearly a mile (7/10ths) wide.

An asteroid of this size traveling at a speed of several hundred thousand miles an hour would cause global devastation, especially if it were to crash into the sea. It would set off a series of megathrust earthquakes in subduction zones around the planet.

These ruptures of undersea tectonic plates would generate colossal tidal waves that would travel around the world, “drowning great countries, even those of great age and mighty foundations”. And, as we shall later discover, they could even alter the shapes of entire continents.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 17th, 2016 at 3:21 pm and is filed under The Day of the Lord. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are closed.