THE IMPACT OF THE PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS
IN THE 21ST CENTURY,
ACCORDING TO MANFRED DIMDE
The
circumstances in the world are subject to change. In the 80’s,
there were major changes in Eastern Europe, beginning with
Gorbachev’s “Perestroika”. When in 1989 the Berlin Wall
was pulled down and the Cold War came to an end, a world-wide
peace seemed to be within reach, also for the Middle East.
In the 21st century, this perspective seems to be shattered. The attack
on the World Trade Centre, the war in Iraq, the conflict between
the Israeli and the Palestine, the threat of a nuclear escalation of a crisis between the United States and North
Korea: a sad beginning of the new century. In Europe and
Southeast Asia, the tensions regarding Muslims increase. The
rivers in Europe burst their banks regularly, causing great damages. Worldwide, there are health problems such as AIDS, SARS, global warming, increasing famine
and a disproportional distribution of scarce wealth. Many
people wonder what will be the result of all this. Some look in
old prophecies for answers to the question how the future, which
is also our future, will be.
The
French physician/astrologer Nostradamus (1503-1566) is famous
and abused because of his “Prophecies”. They consist of a
series of 942 predictions, running from 1555 to 3797. They are
written as quatrains, four-line verses, and classed in nine
“centuries” (chapters) of one hundred quatrains and one with
42 quatrains. They are accompanied by letters from Nostradamus
to Cesar, his oldest son, and the French king Henry II.
Nostradamus
predicts events like wars, religious conflicts, calamities and
epidemics. According to him, these disastrous events, which will
also happen in our lifetime, are the inevitable impact of Gods
verdict over humanity.
There are countless theories about the way Nostradamus composed his
Prophecies. The opinions about their predictional value are
sharply divided. Many attribute to Nostradamus that he predicted
the death of Henry II (1559), the fire in London (1566) and the
rise and fall of Napoleon (1801-1815) and Hitler (1933-1945).
Others state that the Prophecies never will be fulfilled. They
doubt his astrological qualities or his mental abilities.
One of the
quatrains seems to refer to a total solar eclipse in August
1999. When 1999 passed quietly, the interest in the writings of
Nostradamus decreased. At present, there is an increasing
interest, also because in 2003 his 500th birthday is
celebrated.
Since 1983, the German
scholar
Manfred Dimde studies the Prophecies. In
1985, he discovered a key by which he interprets all quatrains.
He wrote among other books: Das
Siegel des Nostradamus, Nostradamus
2003 and Welt am
Wendepunkt: Nostradamus
Prophezeiungen für das 21. Jahrhundert, which
translation is now in front of you. A number of his books is
translated in English, Japanese, Lathvian and Russian. The book
in which Dimde wrote his translation of the quatrains and
letters, is no longer in print, but is available on Internet
after paying a fee.
The French source texts, used by Dimde, are a facsimile edition of the
1611-Troyes-edition and a partly facsimile edition of an
edition, published in 1605 by Vincent Sève.
According
to Dimde, Nostradamus was not only guided by his own clairvoyant
qualities while composing the Prophecies. He was especially
inspired by the prophets of the Old Testament. Dimde writes that
Nostradamus inherited the "prophecies of Abraham" from
his grandfather. In some circles, these prophecies are
considered to be the origin of predictions. In the quatrains,
the apocalyptic message of Abraham was clarified.
The
research of Dimde is based on intuition, linguistics and
mathematics. In contrast to most scholars, he states that the
quatrains are ordered chronologically instead of at random. The
chapter number of each century points to the century of
fulfilment. The number of each quatrain points to the year of
fulfilment. Quatrain V-55 points to 1555, the opening year.
Quatrain IX-99 contains predictions for 1999. Quatrain X-03
contains predictions for 2003. Quatrain V-54 contains
predictions for 2554. Then, the quatrains run for a second time,
for the period 2555-3554.
In
order to interpret the quatrains, Dimde uses the "Vatican
code", a letter code by which letters are classed in a
rhomb. Dimde also uses systems of three and five letters to
derive the meaning which, according to him, is hidden in the
quatrains. This technique results in "headlines".
The
text of the quatrains is not the result of a usual translation.
Dimde rewrote the quatrains as a result of his decoding. There
are enormous differences with the usual translation, such as in
the case of quatrain X-100. The French text:
Le
grand Empire sera par Angleterre,
Le Pempotan des ans plus de trois cens:
Grandes copies passer par mer et
terre,
Les Lusitains n’en seront pas contents.
The
English translation by Edgar Leoni in Nostradamus
and his Prophecies:
The
great empire will be for England,
The all-powerful one for more than three hundred years:
Great forces to pass by sea and land,
The Lusitanians will not be satisfied thereby.
Dimde
lists this quatrain as quatrain IX-100. He writes that it
contains a prediction for 2000. The resulting text of his
decoding:
The
great dominion will be established by the angel-country
To the double clumsy spirit for more than 300 years.
Great serial vessels will pass by the sea and the land
Those with a clever mind will not be happy with it.
The
revised numbering raises a problem. According to Dimde, the
reference numbers of the quatrains contain the years of
fulfilment. In the 1605-Sève edition and the
1611-Troyes-edition, the text of quatrain X-100 reads like
quoted in this essay in French and in the translation by Leoni.
In both editions, quatrain X-100 is followed by an additional
quatrain. Dimde numbered this additional quatrain as quatrain
X-100 and states that 2100 is its year of fulfilment. To the
original quatrain X-100, he gave the number IX-100. With this
act, he wiped out the original quatrain IX-100.
Something similar happened to the "Legis cautio", the Latin
warning against inept critics. Originally,
this quatrain had no number. In the 1611-Troyes-edition, this
quatrain came next to quatrain VI-99. In the 1605-Sève-edition,
this quatrain came next to the - added - quatrain VI-100. Dimde
listed the "Legis cautio" as quatrain IV-100.
According to him, Nostradamus has put this quatrain at the place
which marks the beginning of the text about the first millennium
after publishing his "Great Prophecies", in other
words: quatrain V-01. In the system of Dimde, quatrain V-01
deals with 2501, about 1000 years after 1555, the opening year.
By this numbering, Dimde wipes out the original quatrain IV-100.
On his website, Dimde writes that the "Legis cautio"
is situated at the beginning of century VI.
Dimde
describes the 21st century by means of decoding the quatrains
X-01 until X-99. His explanations are crystal clear. Around
2070, medical scientists will succeed in extend the age of
man until averagely 400 years. Europe will have three periods of
prosperity. The first of these periods will start soon and will
endure until around 2010. Discoveries will be made regarding
space travel and energy sources.
Dimde
also describes a global war which will take place from 2011 to
2015. In this war, 2/3 of the inhabitants of Europe will be
killed and 3/4 of the Muslims. The fighting parties will heavily
use chemical weapons. Around 2018, the Christians decide to take
a bloody revenge on the Muslims. Around 2042, another period of
peace will begin.
Dimde
comprehensively describes his interpretation techniques. By
this, one can study the quatrains and form an opinion about his
methods. Each decoded quatrain has a fulfilment year. All
prognoses can be checked.
On
his website, Dimde discusses the quatrains which, according to
him, are expired. He describes to what extent they became
fulfilled. He does not claim his absolute rightfulness, which is
to his credit.
In
the series of books about Nostradamus, the oeuvre of Dimde is
striking. He invites you to deepen yourself in what Nostradamus
might have to say about our time.
T.W.M.
van Berkel
Author of Nostradamus,
astrologie en de Bijbel
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