One of our readers asked me to address a prediction made by Nostradamus that has been going around the Internet. Below is what I was sent:
I know that you are familiar with this 16th century man. People are looking at some of “his predications” at a time like this. Massive emails are circulating about him. Many employees here are getting “scared” about this. I know that you have great knowledge of the scripture. If you can, could you give us all some leadership in reference to believing false prophets?
Hmmm . . . This is a quote from one of his predictions:
“In the year of the new century and nine months, From the sky will come a great King of Terror . . . The sky will burn at forty one degrees. Fire approaches the great new city . . .”
“In the city of York there will be great collapse, twin brothers torn apart by chaos while the fortress fall, the great leader will succumb, the third big war will come when the big city is burning . . .”
2001 is the first year of the new century and it is the 9th month. New York is located at the 41st degree Latitude. He also said that this will be the third World War, and it would be bigger than the last two wars. I hope he is wrong, but judging from his predictions of Hitler, Napoleon, and Pearl Harbor . . .
My comments are that the scriptures are very clear that we should rely on the Word of God to guide us, not anyone or anything else. The Bible teaches that we should not consult numerologists. astrologists, sorcerers, mediums, fortune tellers etc. The Bible teaches that there will be many false prophets, especially as we move toward the last days. It does not say that sometimes these people will not be right about some things, indeed they will be able to perform miracles and convince and deceive many people. This was demonstrated many times in the Bible, one instance comes to mind when Moses was before pharaoh and his staff of wizards were able to make their wooden staffs turn into snakes when Moses did.
The snake that came from Mose’s staff however, swallowed up all the others which in my mind indicated that although power has been given to the dark forces, it is no match for God’s power. The Bible teaches that the antichrist will suffer a fatal “grievous” wound to the head and after dying will then come back to life. This act will convince many people that he is indeed the Messiah. Although he will deceive many people and have his day, it will not last long and ultimately this, the original serpent, will again be swallowed up and defeated by God who is all powerful. Until then stay away from items like Nostradamus lest you be fooled by it. Satan is a liar, but sometimes he tells just enough truth mixed in with his lies to snare the weak and gullible.
We know that Satan has been given tremendous power over this earth that we do not possess. After all he was created higher than any other of God’s creations. I believe that satanic activity is increasing as we approach the beginning of the end for Satan and his motley crew. They know time is getting short for them and they want to take anyone and everyone that they can with them.
The good news is that the Bible plainly tells us that no Christian need fear Satan or any of his demons. The course is set. Everything will happen exactly according to God’s timetable. Although no one knows exactly when He will come back, He has given us a laundry list of things which have to occur first. I believe they have occurred, and He could come at any time to retrieve His bride the church. I’ll leave you with two sets of scripture. One is what Jesus said about the future and the other tells us who are Christians and have accepted Him as our Savior –we do not have to worry about anything.
Matthew 24:3
. . . And what will be
the sign of Your coming, and of
the end of the age?
And Jesus answered and said to
them: “Take heed that no one
deceives you.
For many will come in My
name, saying, “I am the Christ,”
and will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
All of these things are the beginning of sorrows.
Then they will deliver you up
to tribulation and kill you and you
will be hated by all nations for My
name’s sake.
And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, and will
hate one another.
Then many false prophets will
rise up and deceive many.
And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow
cold.
But he who endures to the end
shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in all the world as
a witness to all the nations, and then
the end will come.
Romans 8:38
For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things
to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!