“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9). Satan has done everything possible to create a 'parallel' to true Christianity-- a fake-- a counterfeit-- of the authentic God-led path. The Bible contains prophecies that point to Jesus Christ as the Messiah who would come to earth to save mankind, and who would be crucified, resurrected, and who would return to take true disciples to live with Him forever.
What about some of the 'false prophets'-- those who deceive with their prophecies? I intend to take a look at a few of them over the next few blogs.
When I was a young woman I had a job as a sorter in the Vancouver Post Office. The work was monotonous, to say the least, but the company of my co-workers was mostly enjoyable. We chatted and got to know each other quite well during those windowless nighttime shifts. One fellow told me about Nostradamus. He was convinced that we would all be well-advised to listen to the prophecies of this particular 16th Century 'seer'.
Here is a thumbnail sketch adapted from the
Teaching Hearts website.
Michel de Nostredame (1503-66), later known as Nostradamus, was a French alchemist, physician, linguist, and astrologist. He divined the future with his magical equipment: astrolabe, magic mirrors, divining rods, and a brass bowl and tripod, designed after the type used by the great Delphic oracles. In the dark evening he would go to his study where he would sit before the tripod with a brass bowl bubbling with water and herbs.
In 1550, he published his first almanac of prophecies - twelve four-line poems called "quatrains." Each poem gave a general prophecy for the coming year. The excited reception for this almanac encouraged Nostradamus to create an almanac every year for the rest of his life. His most famous work,
The Centuries, was begun in 1554 and consisted of ten volumes of 100 quatrains each. These prophecies have been printed continuously for over 400 years.
In his own time as is true today, Nostradamus' quatrains have received mixed reviews by readers. The combination of French, Greek, Latin, and Italian written as riddles, puns, anagrams, and epigrams are extremely complex and demand that the reader have knowledge in a wide range of subjects. Some quatrains could fit descriptions of just about any time in the world, while others are more exact.
According to the Bible, Nostradamus is a false prophet. The prophecies that seem to be true have the effect of deceive because there is a tendancy for his adherents to want to ignore the prophecies that are not accurate. Nostradamus does what God asks us not to do: he consults the stars. Additionally, many of his predictions did not actually come about.
A cross-road? Yes-- a place where you get to choose: "will I go for a "change" or will I choose to keep doing what I have always done? Am I happy where I am or am I longing for the opportunity to do something that I really DESIRE-- maybe not what my Dad or my spouse or my adult child thinks I should do, but something in my heart-of-hearts that seems right for me, and when I let my mind go there to dream, I feel peace and joy and excited anticipation." 
