Mani (216 - 276 A.D.)

Mani was a prophet and the founder of a gnostic religion than became known as Manichaeism, a religion that was once widespread but it now extinct.  He was born in around Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Assyria (modern-day Iraq).

He received visions at the ages of 12 and 24 telling him to leave his father's Jewish Christian sect and to teach the true message of Christ.  From there he traveled to India and Afghanistan and may have been influenced by Buddhism.  When he returned in 242 A.D. he became favoured by King Shapur, yet when Bahram succeeded to the throne everything changed, Bahram was a supporter of Zoroastrian movement and persecuted the Manichaeans, Mani was caught and put in prison and later crucified.

It is said that he wrote seven works, although none of these have survived in their complete form, they include the Mani-Codex and the Book of Giants.  His teachings that have survived tell us that he believed that good and evil existed in a constant struggle.  He believed that salvation was possible through education, self-denial, fasting and chastity.  He claimed to be the last of the prophets, and followed the teachings of other prophets; Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Nikotheos, Zoroaster, Buddha and Jesus.

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.)

The Delphic Sibyl (est1200-800B.C.)

The Delphic Sibyl made her prophecies at Delphi (Greece), there are many various stories about this Sibyl but not all of them agree. For example, one source lists her as a daughter of Queen Lamia which would make her a sister or half-sister of The Libyan Sibyl. However, it is said that she came from Troad before the Trojan War (1200B.C.) with her brother (Apollo) to Delphi, then later stopped at Samos (Greek island) Claros (Greek city) and Delos (Greek island where Apollo was born) before eventually dying in Troad (Turkey) after living nine generations(which is about 300-400years).

The Sibyl is mentioned by various sources, most noticeably by Pausanias in his description of Greece, and later she was also one of the Sibyls that was painted by Michelangelo. There are claims that she gave a prophecy about the coming of Christ.

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

The Erythraean Sibyls (est1300-150 B.C.?)

The first Erythraean Sibyl is said to have been the daughter of a sheperd. She lived in Erythrae, Ionia (Asia Minor), on the Aegean Sea, and is often confused with the Cumaean Sibyl (St. Augustine, in his "City of God," speaks of this).

What makes this woman important to Christians is her prediction of Christ, given in the form of an acrostic poem which formed the words, 'Ihsous Xristos Qeou uios spthr, which means, "Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour." And in some ways she was remembered through her dipiction in a floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Siena and in a painting by Michelangelo. It is said that she also predicted the Trojan War (est1200 B.C.) saying that Troy would be destroyed and that Homer (est 850 B.C) would write falsely. It is also said that she prophesied Alexander the Great's(est 300 B.C.) divine parentage.

However it seems that Erthrae may have become a permanent base for a succession of Sibyls, as the daughter of Berossus (est 300 B.C.) became one, Berossus was a scholar and an astrologist who, according to Vitruvius de Architectura, is said to have moved in later like to the island of Kos to set up a school of Astrology. Further evidence to this idea is that Appollodorus (est180 B.C.) still references a Sibyl of Erthrae many years later. Therefore I am referencing to them here in the plural and to have existed from 1300-150 B.C.

Upon further examination of other documents(incl the Suidas), it appears that the Erythraean Sibyl (the original) spent the greater part of her life on the Greek Island of Samos and became known as the Samian Sibyl, or Phyto (meaning 'wandering'). It is possible that she originally settled in Erthrae and set up a base for other sibyls before moving to Samos to spend the rest of her life there, or maybe she originated from the island itself and just traveled to Erthrae at some point in her life. The Samian Sibyl is recorded as existing during the building of the city of Byzantium (around 600B.C.??)

Old Document Review on 'The Expositions on the Apocalypse'

This old document was composed around 1235 A.D. by Hugh of Saint Cher (d.1263) under the title of Aser pinguis. Hugh was a dominican preacher and also a theology professor. In this document, he gives comments about the meanings behind the Apocalypse ( otherwise called Revelations).

His views are somewhat similar to that of Apringus, in that the Seven Seals mentioned in the book refer to prophecies sealed in time that were broken by the coming of Christ, in fact he goes as far as to say the 'the book is Christ'.

Hugh goes on to describe the various references from the Old Testament which are the seals, the incarnation, nativity, passion, resurrection, ascension, the sending of the Holy Spirit and lastly the coming judgement. These are all referenced to the seven miracles of Jesus. Note the slight differences to beliefs of Apringus from hundreds of years previous, this may be due to passage of time that ideas may change, but this document gives insight to what was believed within church circles in the 13Th century.

Most profound was a reference which claimed that Mary was not just the mother of Jesus, but in fact she was a prophetess!! This is formulated based upon one of the prophecies that formed one of the seals and quoted from Isaiah.