Hildegard of Bingen & her prophecies

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, O.S.B. (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis) (1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath.  Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play.

Hildegard says that she first saw "The Shade of the Living Light" at the age of three, and by the age of five she began to understand that she was experiencing visions.  She used the term 'visio' to this feature of her experience, and recognized that it was a gift that she could not explain to others. Hildegard explained that she saw all things in the light of God through the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.  Hildegard was hesitant to share her visions, confiding only to Jutta, who in turn told Volmar, Hildegard's tutor and, later, secretary.  Throughout her life, she continued to have many visions, and in 1141, at the age of 42, Hildegard received a vision she believed to be an instruction from God, to "write down that which you see and hear."

There are two significant prophecies, the first relates to the two witnesses (Henoch & Elias)...

God shows them the works of men as though they could see these with natural eyes. The two men are therefore, much wiser than all wise men put together. The same force which removed Henoch and Elias from the earth will bring them back in a storm wind at the time when the Antichrist will spread his false doctrine. As long as they will dwell amongst men they will always be refreshed after 40 days. They have the mission from God to resist the Antichrist and lead the erring back to the road of salvation. Both men, distinguished by age and stature, will speak to men: `This accursed one is sent by the devil in order to lead men into error. We have been preserved by God at a secreted place, where we did not experience the suffering of men. We are now sent by God in order to oppose. the heresy of this destroyer. Look, if we resemble you in stature and age.'And because the testimony of both shall agree they will be believed. All will follow these two aged men and renounce heresy. They will visit all cities and towns where previously the Antichrist had sown his heresy, and through the power of the Holy Ghost will work genuine miracles. All the people will be greatly astonished at them. Henoch and Elias will. confuse the followers of Satan with thunder strokes, and destroy. them and fortify the Christians in faith. Therefore, the. Christians will hurry to martyrdom, which the son of evil will. prepare for them like to a banquet, so that the murderers will. grow tired of counting the dead on account of their great. numbers; for their blood will run like rivers. Henoch and Elias have been taught much wisdom and knowledge. in Paradise while awaiting their return to earth. God will. instruct them every forty days while they are on earth. They. will receive exceptional graces and powers from God to use. against Antichrist. / Enoch and Elias will be instructed by God in a most secret manner in paradise. God reveals to them the actions and condition of men that they may regard them with the eyes of compassion. Because of this special preparation, these two holy men are more wise than all the wise men on the earth taken together. God will give them the task of opposing Antichrist and of bringing back those who have strayed from the way of salvation. Both of these men will say to people:This accursed one has been sent by the devil to lead men astray and into error; we have been preserved by God in a hidden place where we did not experience the sorrows of men but God has now sent us to combat the heresy of this son of perdition. They will go into all cities and villages where previously Antichrist had broadcasted his heresies and by the power of the Holy Spirit will perform wonderful miracles so that all nations will greatly marvel at them. This as to a wedding feast, Christians will hasten to death by martyrdom which the son of perdition will have prepared for them in such numbers that those murderers will be unable even to count the slain, then the blood of these martyrs will fill the rivers

The second important prophecy is about the Antichrist...

He will be raised at different secret places and will be kept in seclusion until full grown. When he has grown to full manhood he will publicly announce a hostile doctrine on religion. He will lure and attract the people to himself by granting them complete exemption from the observance of all divine and ecclesiastical. commandments, by forgiving them their sins and requiring of them only their belief in his divinity. He will spurn and reject baptism and the gospel. He will open his mouth to preach contradiction. He will say, `Jesus of Nazareth is not the son of. God, only a deceiver who gave himself out as God; and the Church instituted by him is only superstition'. The true Christ has come in his person. He will say, `I am the Saviour of the. world'. Especially will he try to convince the Jews that he is the Messiah sent by God, and the Jews will accept him as such. His doctrine of faith will be taken from the Jewish religion and seemingly will not differ much from the fundamental doctrine of Christianity for he will teach that there is one God who created the world, who is omniscient and knows the thoughts of man and is just, who rewards the obeyers of his commands and the trespassers he chastises, who raises all from the dead in due time. This God has spoken through Moses and the Prophets, therefore the precepts of the Mosaic laws are to be kept, especially circumcision and keeping the Sabbath, yet by his moral laws he will try to reverse all order on earth. Therefore he is called in Holy Writ the `Lawless One'. He will think that he can change time and laws. He will discard all laws, morals and religious principles, to draw the world to himself. He will grant entire freedom from the commandments of God and the Church and permit everyone to live as his passions dictate. By doing so he hopes to be acknowledged by the people as deliverer from the yoke, and as the cause of prosperity in the world. Religion he will endeavor to make convenient. He will say that you need not fast and embitter your life by renunciation, as the people of former times did when they had no sense of God's goodness. It will suffice to love God. He. will let the people feast to their heart's content so that they will pity the unfortunate people of former centuries. He will preach free love and tear asunder family ties. He will scorn everything holy, and he will ridicule all graces of the Church with devilish mockery. He will condemn humility and foster proud and gruesome dogmas. He will tear down that which God has taught in the Old and New Testament and maintain sin and vice are not sin and vice. Briefly he will declare the road to Hell is the way to Heaven.

Marie Julie Jahenny (1850-1941)

Marie's home in Blain

She was born on Feb12th in Blain, France.  She was the eldest of five children, a large peasant family, and later joined the Franciscan Third Order. She also reported apparitions through which she received prophecies about the end of the world, punishment for the sins of the people, the destruction of Paris through civil war, and the coming of Antichrist.

 At the age of twenty-three she fell ill and became closer to death, where she claimed to have been given a choice to live on, but only if she bore the stigmata sign, which from that moment appeared and stayed on her body as well as other signs until her death.  According to the testimony of witnesses, she experienced supernatural attacks from the devil, had the gift of prophecy and miracles, the miracles varied from being able to tell holy bread from normal bread, being able to see into the past of relics and even the ability to levitate.

Marie-Julie predicted numerous chastisements for sin that would fall first on France then spread to the rest of the world. These include: earthquakes, unprecedented destruction through storms, failed harvests, unknown plagues that would spread rapidly plus the cures for them, a "Blood Rain" that would fall for seven weeks, civil war in France that apparently would be started by conspirators in the government, the persecution of the Catholic Church with the total closure of all churches and religious houses(some could claim that this is currently in progress with the church being brought down by the behavior of its own priests), persection and slaughter of Christians, the destruction of Paris, a Two Day period of Darkness that would come circa a month before the Three Days of Darkness. The coming of the Great Monarch would also be announced by signs in the sky. She also had visions of the Angelic Pontiff who would reign at the same time of the Great Monarch, and that both these great leaders were destined to restore the Catholic Church 

Old Document Review 'Compendium on Holy Scripture'

This ancient document was written by Peter Auriol (d.1322) in 1319, he was a member of the Franciscan order and lectured in Bologna and Toulouse.  Auriol believed that the seven seals represented the span of events from Christ through to Judgement Day.  Specifically he looked at the tribulations of the early church and Identified the tribulations with the seven seals leading up to about 363A.D.

Auriol believed that the angel mentioned in the sixth seal is actually Constantine, and the events below symbolized the seals;

1st seal > The spread of the gospel after Jesus (33-53A.D.)

2nd seal > Persecution of the early church (54-68A.D.)

3rd seal > The destruction of Jerusalem (69-80A.D.)

4th seal > A second persecution (81-96A.D.)

5th seal > The seven consecutive persecutions (98-275A.D.)

6th seal > The tenth persecution (275-305A.D.)

7th seal > Tranquility & peace (305-363A.D.)

Old Document Review 'The confession of Prous Boneta'

Na Prous Boneta (d.1328) made her confession before an Inquisition in 1325, she was associated with a break away group which had become convinced that they were living in the end times.

Boneta believed that all seven seals had been opened during her own lifetime, and applied the characters in the Book of Revelations to people of her time.  She identified the two witnesses as being Francis of Assisi and Olivi, and that the current pope, Pope John XXII was actually the Antichrist!  Whats more unbelievable is that she goes on to identify herself as the woman that appears in Revelations 12, and that she seen herself as the only one worthy of opening the seals.  

It is easy to see why she had been brought before the Inquisition for her beliefs, yet, it is interesting to see that even back in the 14th Century there was those who believed that they lived in the end times, a belief which re-occurs over and over even to the present day, and it also shows how wrongly people can interpret prophecies.

Old Document Review 'Question and Answer Manual on the Apocalpse'

This ancient document is said to have been written by Alcuin of York (d.804) in the ninth century and it is a list of questions about the Apocalypse (Revelations) along with a set of answers.  Alcuin was associated with Charlemagne's school called the Carolingian court, he worked there as a scholar at the invitation of Charlemagne himself.

Alcuin sees the seven seals in the Book of Revelations (Apocalypse) as being opened after Jesus had lived his life, died and rose again and returned to heaven.  The first seal is seen as the start of the early church, the following three seals are seeing as wars against the church.  The fifth seal is seen as the triumph of the church over its enemies, the sixth is seen as the time of the Antichrist and the seventh as the start of eternal life.

It is an interesting document yet it is quite short, it lacks the explanation of how each seal points to these events but simply points at the direction of their meaning.  In a sense the wars against the church could be seen as the persecution by the Romans before the formation of the Roman Catholic Church, and the second could be when the crusades happened, but this would be simple speculation based upon brief words, which can be linked to other documents rather than being the origin of the ideals.  However the idea that the Book of Revelations is fully prophetic of the future, rather than being an explanation of Jesus' life, lives on to this day and many people still view the Book of Revelations as a prophecy for the future and not the past.

Old Document Review 'A prophecy on the Antichrist'

This prophecy is one that can be found in the Mirabilis liber which was an ancient document published in 1522, a document which was a vast collection of prophecies from many older sources including this prophecy which gives details about the Antichrist.

It is said in the prophecy that the Antichrist or the false prophet will come from the 'land of Leo' and will influence many powerful people through false signs and wrong doctrines, it his said that deep within his mind he despises Christianity yet he hides this, and gains powerful sway even over the Roman Catholic church, it is said that 'even the wisest shall be misled'.

Yet despite the trial which is forecast to put on the church by his existence, it is a part of what is meant to happen, part of the bigger plan.  In a sense the Antichrist is seen here as part of God's plan, not in the sense that he serves God, but more in the sense of Judas who betrayed Jesus, yet that too was part of God's plan as it was meant for Jesus to die.  So here the Antichrist has been given his time and his moment so that he can test believers, to put them through a trial to see if they should pass.

To read about the other prophecies in the Mirabilis liber CLICK HERE

Old Document Review 'The prophecy of Saint Severus'

This ancient document forms part of the Mirabilis liber, a collection of prophecies that was published in 1522, however this fourth section of the prophecies is believed to have originally been a 4th century composition or a 15th century composition with some confusion over who the author might be.

This set of prophecies is unlike anything I have read, and is somewhat disjointed in ways.  In places it mentions things such as 'the Church that shall be called diabolical' which could easily relate to modern time Catholic priest scandals, and there is also a reference to the 'time of the giants' which would suggest that the author would have considered other ancient texts about the giants as being the truth such as The Book of Giants and The Book of the Bee.

There is a long and specific prophecy in relation to the city of Ravenna (Italy), the author calls it the 'city of philosophers, built by the children of Noah', yet there will be a great struggle over this place, and indeed in history there has been struggles over Ravenna; with it being at points belonging to the Roman Catholic Empire and at other points it belonged to Italy and has switched between them many times.

However, despite the name, there is the possibility that this prophecy is actually talking about New York, it is called 'city of the peoples and of riches' yet its enemy shall rise and 'shall take into the air' and then says that 'The towers that are your joy shall fall into the dust'.  Could this very clear prophecy actually be predicting the 9/11 attacks?

Either way this moment in time is seen as a turning point leading to battles and wars that have not been seen since the beginning of the world, yet that faith and unity will be reborn in Ravenna (or New York) and the enemies of the Christians will be destroyed until the times of the Antichrist.

To read more about the other prophecies in the Mirabilis liber CLICK HERE

Old Document Review 'The prophecy of St Augustine of Hippo'

This prophecy believed to have been written around 950 AD and forms part of the collection called the Marabilis liber which was first published in 1522.  This prophecy is quite short in comparison to some of the other prophecies in the book, and just talks in particular about the Antichrist.

It is not clear however whether the author Augustine is a prophet himself, or just a prophecy collector, and after having examined the document, it would be my opinion that this prophecy is probably in commentary format based upon other prophecies or maybe spurs from study on the subject by the author.

As far as what is predicted in the prophecy, it says that the Antichrist shall not appear until a period of time where people "shall have freed and separated themselves" from Rome.  Rome here is seen as the Roman Empire which had already been mainly destroyed by the time this was written.  After this, Augustine in-visions a new type of Roman Empire with links to "French kings", and while the Roman Empire was vast it mainly covered Europe, so it is possible that the Roman Empire referred to here is actually the European Union.  And the Antichrist is seen as a French king who will rule the Empire.  If Europe becomes a federation due to the financial crisis, it could leave the door open for Presidency of Europe, and if there comes to be a French President of the EU, it will fulfill this prophecy of the Antichrist.

To read more about other prophecies in the Marabilis liber CLICK HERE

Old Document Review 'The Prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl'

This old document forms part of the Mirabilis liber which is a collection of prophecies from various sources and anthologies.  This part of the collection is said to be a surviving prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl, that she was one of ten Sibyls and that she is called Cassandra and lived for 367 years and traveled across many parts of the world from Asia to Africa and Europe.

There are a lot of similarities between this continuous prophecy and the prophecy by Bishop Bemechobus and seems to biblical based, however there are some very stark differences which have no apparent biblical links.  The story tells us of how she came to Rome where she was asked to interpret a dream, and so she took them up into the mountain and told them that 'The nine suns that you saw signify all the generations that are to come' and then she goes on to tell them what some of the things that are in store for some of these generations.  This is somewhat similar in a way to the belief of the Mayans that there are nine generations.

She goes on to list rulers and princes and successors to a point where there shall be 'wars between Christians and the pagans' in a time where 'Men shall be greedy and false and truth shall disappear'.  She lists a number of disasters including islands swallowed up by floods (Japan?) and bloodshed and earthquakes and so on.

Then she says that after all the wars that a king shall reign over the Greeks and French and Romans for a hundred and twelve years, at which point the Antichrist will appear and cause havoc.  Followed by the army from the north and the two witnesses Elias and Enoch, and the Antichrist will be killed by Michael.  Then the king (Christ) shall return 'through the spheres'.  And all mankind will be judged before earth is then finally destroyed.  What I find intriguing is that if the references to war are actually meant to represent World War 2 then if you add 112 years (of the UN) to 1945 you end up with 2057, and the Antichrist is said to rule for three years which gives you the end of the world being 2060, the exact same year which Isaac Newton came up with in his mathematical formula based upon the Book of Daniel > one word > hmmm

To read about the other prophecies in Mirabilis liber CLICK HERE

Old Document review 'The Prophecy of Bishop Bemechobus'

This old document forms part of the Mirabilis liber which is a collection of prophecies and anthologies that was published in 1522.  This part, written by a Syrian bishop forms one complete prophecy based solely upon a biblical background.

The prophecy tells of a war started by 'the arms of the south' that will cause much devastation to Northern Africa and much of Europe, and that this will be a religious war where Christians will be subject to many horrors.  Next the Christians fight back and win back their homelands and 'Peace and tranquility shall be reborn on earth' where the age that people live to shall increase drawing near to the amounts of years which Noah lived.  

Then another war, an army from the North with so many men that they are referred to as a plague that devour anything from snakes to humans and they shall capture Greece and much of the middle-east and they will rule of Jerusalem for seven years, then the Antichrist will appear and show many miracles to the world.  Then the two witnesses(Elias and Enoch) will come and attack the Antichrist, and then follows this is the return of Christ.

To read more about the other prophecies in Mirabilis liber CLICK HERE

The Tiburtine Sibyl (est50 B.C.)

The Tiburtine Sibyl,also known as Albunea, lived in Tibur (now Tivoli) and located about fifteen miles Northeast of Rome. Her temple, which still stands today, was surrounded by a "sacred" grove and by mineral springs which, poetically enough given the topic of this page, flowed into the Tiber. The reason for this Sibyl's importance to Christians is her meeting with Augustus, he had gone to seek out knowledge about his own divinity and also about his successor, however, instead he was informed of the coming of Christ “This Child will be greater than thou”.

Furthermore one of the writings from the Sibylline Oracles has been attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl, which include predictions; that the final Emperor of Rome will be the ninth and he will vanquish the foes of Christianity, that the coming of the Antichrist will happen and he will oppose the two witnesses and eventually be slain by Michael the Archangel.

For more information please read Old Document Review 'The prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl' which formed part of the Mirabilis liber published in 1522

Prophet Habakkuk (est640-598BC)

Prophet Information:

Habakkuk, according to the Book of the Bee he was from the land of Zoar and of the tribe of Simeon, also that he brought food to Daniel in the lions den, he was stoned to death by Jews in Jerusalem

Mission/Message:

Habakkuk was different to the other twelve Minor Prophets in that he wrote no oracle addressed directly at Israel, instead his book is like a debate between himself and God. This is supposed to be symbolic of the general feelings felt by those like him at the time.

Documentation:

The book seems like it is just a personal record between a man and God, but it could represent how the godly felt at the time about what was happening around them. The book itself is generally dated to 605 B.C. Habakkuk is also mentioned in the book Bel and the Dragon as being the person who ministered to Daniel whilst in the lions den, but this is not seen as historical. He is also mentioned in Lives of the Prophets, saying that he was born to a Shunamite woman with Elisha's blessing.

Occupation:

Unknown but there are musical notations in the book, which would give rise to the belief that he was knowledgeable in music.

Best known for:

-Prediction of the coming Babylonian invasion

Attributes of his personality:

Strong faith in religious traditions, he wrote with clearness and great feeling, and displays his trust and belief in God

Supernatural Aspects:

The book describes a relationship between the prophet and God, one where Habakkuk complains and gets his answers until finally he is happy and fully understands God’s will and accepts it.

Examples of prophecies:

-The invasion by Babylonians

-The punishment of the Babylonians

End Times Prophecies:

There is some debate about the first section of Chapter two where some believe it is talking about the anti-christ and the end times yet the traditionalists believe that it is merely talking about the fact that, even though the punishment of the Babylonians will come, that they will have to wait for the vision to come true, and they did have to wait 66 years.