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.

Found this guy who claims to have seen A Dream Where he heard: “Behold the Two Witnesses!!...

JESUS CHRIST IS IMMINENTLY PICKING HIS BRIDE!!!!!: A Dream Where I heard: “Behold the Two Witnesses!!...: On the night of 27 th January 2012 after my night prayers at 3:30am I had a supernatural dream. And t...

Jeremiah (est 626-585 B.C.)

Jeremiah son of Hilkiah was from Anathoth, and was part of the Benjamin tribe, he was a priest and first started to hear God when he became thirteen.  He is told that despite his young age that he is to tell a message of doom and destruction to Judah followed by rising and rebuilding, and he starts to see visions.  He is told to go to Jerusalem and Judah to tell the people to turn from their wicked ways, and he is also told that he will be protected as other prophets have been killed by the people there.

He sees a vision of a barren earth with no life and the mountains are shaking, all done by the God's fierce anger.  God tells Judah that he will use Babylonians to destroy Israel and Judah to punish them for their wicked ways.  God speaks to Jeremiah by experience, through rotten buried clothes, through drought, through a pottery wheel.  God tells Jeremiah that the people are now destined for starvation, war and disease so he is asked to be a prophet once more, to deliver the message and that he will be protected, he will be make strong.

God has "put a curse on those who turn from him and trust in human strength"

People try and stop Jeremiah from his words, including people who falsely accuse him or event arrest him and hold him overnight.  However some just throw insults at him, but he suffers to the point whether he questions whether he should have been born at all.  Jeremiah is on trial, and they reference Micah how he had foretold the destruction of the temple, but the King had listened and destruction was adverted, and that Jeremiah should not be killed.

Hananiah challenges Jeremiah, but then Jeremiah foretells his death and Hananiah dies within two months.  Jeremiah writes to the King after he is taken as a captive to Babylonia, and explains that they will be brought back to Jerusalem after 70 years of Babylonian rule.  One of his letters went to Shemaiah, who then wrote letters to deny him, one went to the priest Zephaniah(not the Prophet) who showed Jeremiah and so Jeremiah cursed Shemaiah.

Jeremiah declares that the Lord will make a new convenant that will be written into the hearts and minds of people, foretelling a king in the line of David.

While a prisoner in Jerusalem, Jeremiah buys a pice of land belonging to the Benjamin tribe, later, he gets Baruch to write down what he says onto a scroll and the scroll is read out to the people then brought before the king, but the king chops it up and throws it into the fire, but another scroll is written this time including a curse upon the King

First Jeremiah is imprisoned in Jonathon's house, the in the palace prison but then he is thrown down a well but later rescued, and then he was kept in the palace gaurds residence.  When Jerusalem fell after a 18month siege, Jeremiah was going to be led away but he was set free and allowed to stay behind and have a house, he went to live with Gedaliah (the new leader of Judah) in Mizpah, but Gedaliah gets killed by Ismael, who takes everyone in Mizpah captive.

But the captives are rescued and plan to flee to Egypt but they stop at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, fearing for backlash from the Babylonians, but Jeremiah tells them to stay in Judah.  They refuse to listen and are all led to Egypt by Johanan.  But then the Lord tells Jeremiah that the Babylonains will now attack Egypt, Gaza, Philistine, Crete, Moab, Ammon, and the Kedar tribe.

Joseph (est.1886-1806 B.C.)

Joseph was born in Syria and had eleven brothers Rueben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali.  Joseph was son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham.

By 17 he was his father's favourite and they were living in Canaan, he would have many dreams foretelling the future, yet his brother scorned him so they faked his death and sold him to slavery to a caravan coming from Gilead, where he ended up being sold in Egypt

He rose from slave to house assistant but his owner's wife tried to seduce him and then told lies and Joseph ended up in prison, where he interprets dreams for people, two years later he is called to interpret the king of Egypts dream; He say that a seven year famine is on the way, and Joseph is put in charge of all the officials.  His brothers come to buy food, and they do not recognize Joseph as speaks in Egyptian and he tricks them all to come to Egypt so that he can reveal his identity.

Gen44:5 states that he uses a silver cup to "learn about the future"

So his father and brothers and their families come to live in Egypt to avoid death during the famine, stopping at Beersheba to offer sacrifices.  Joseph went on to trade food for all things and by the end of the famine he owned all of the land and animals and most people were his slaves.  He went on to have two sons Ephraim and Manasseh.  Joseph died at the age of 110 and he was embalmed, later his bones were taken by Moses when the exile occurred so that he could be buried in the land of Canaan.

Enoch (7106 - 6741 B.C.)

The story of Enoch the Scribe is only briefly mentioned in the Bible, yet his story is told elsewhere such as the Book of the Giants.  For this article I will refer only to that which is said about Enoch in the Book of Enoch and the Fragment of the Book of Noah.  He was seventh generation from Adam and also the grandfather of Noah.

The story starts as two hundred angels descended from heaven following the one but bound by an agreement to him, the angels took women and taught them secrets of herbology, astrology, forging of metals, how to write and other secrets.  But the women gave birth to giants who could not be sustained by the supplies of the community, so the giants turned against men, making war.

So Enoch was given visions and was told that because of the wickedness the Deluge would come to punish the wicked.  So he was given power over the 200 and the wicked and he took the message to declare the coming destruction to the two hundred, the giants and the wicked.  But they pleaded with him for mercy, and so he promised them to make a petition of their behalf.  But their petition was refused and their fate was decided.

The story carries on, telling how he sought wisdom "I wish to know about everything" and so angels come and start to teach him knowledge about everything., although sometimes the vision become too much for him to bear.  He is shown the places where the 200 will go for imprisonment.  He is shown where souls go after death, the good separated from the bad and is shown how the spirits of the giants will become the evil spirits as they are neither man nor angel (angel as in the 200).

Then he was shown all the secrets of the earth and the universe, the laws of the universe and then a vision of the end of all things.  He is then shown the future, of the one who will be like the Lamb (Jesus) and everything that happens between the deluge and Jesus concerning his descendants.  One prophecy relates to the moon changing orbit and stars changing position suggesting a polar shift.

At the end Enoch spoke to his family in regards to all his knowledge, and his son Methuselah is taught and given Enoch's books of knowledge and from there Noah is taught, books are to be kept safe to ensure safety for future, one book contains a complete doctrine of wisdom.  Then he was taken from the earth and did not die like all other men.

Jacob Boehme (1575 - 1624)

Jacob Boehme was born in Poland, and was raised in a Christian family,as a young lad he became a shoemakers apprentice and stayed with the family who were not Christians, which opened his eyes to the world around him.  It is recorded that he regularly studied the Bible yet also took time to read works by visionaries such as Paracelcus.

Boehme had numerous mystical experiences, the highlight of which occurred in 1600 when he received a vision which revealed to him the spiritual structure of the world and gave him a great understanding of good and evil and the ongoing relationship between man and God.  It was not until twelve years after this that he started to write, but his writings gained mixed success, at one point he was even asked to leave his town.  But by the time of his death in 1624, he had written many documents of various subjects such as 'Of the Last times' (1620) , 'Answers to forty questions regarding the soul' (1620) and 'The Supersensual Life' (1624)

I came across references to Boehme made by the famous John Wesley and others during the 18th century who looked upon Boehme's writings as a great source of knowledge, and indeed he was considered as the original thinker in the Lutherian tradition and maintained many followers after his death who became known as Behmenists.  I am planning to get a hold of some translations of his writings and review them here at a later date.

Old Document Review 'Brief explanations of the Apocalypse'

This ancient document was written by Cassiodorus (d.580) who was a senator, then theologian before he founded a monastery in Italy where he resided with scholar-monks till his death. Only one copy of this document remains in existence and is in Verona.

Cassiodorus sees John's vision in the Apocalypse (Revelations) as specifically "concerning the end of the world" and that furthermore the visions are "joining things in the past with things in the future".

Here the seals are seen differently to other commentators of Revelations which I have mentioned before, Cassiodorus believes that the first two seals and the first two horsemen symbolize Christ. The white horse is purity and the red horse is the blood that was shed. He also sees other symbolic things as describing parts of the church, for example the 144,000 are the "congregation of the saints" also, the 'harp of the elders' signifies the relationships between the members of the church.

Hermas (est 80-140A.D.)

Hermas or otherwise known as Hermes of Philippopolis is believed to have lived somewhere around 80-140A.D. He is believed to have once been a slave that was brought to Greece, however at some point in his life he started to walk the life of a prophet. The main source for information about Hermas is a book called The Good Shepherd which has three sections; the first contains five visions, the second contains twelve mandates and the last contains ten parables. He is also mentioned in other places, for example he is mentioned by Paul in Romans16:14, and it is also suggested that he is the brother of Pius the bishop of Rome.

In the visions he is visited at various points by a woman, twice while making the journey to Cumae where he says:

“I had walked a little, I fell asleep; and the spirit caught me away”

At first he mistakes the woman for a sibyl who has been sent to give him messages from God, yet in his second vision he is told that it is not a sibyl but that the woman symbolises the Church of God. As the story of the visions develop, it is made clear that Hermes is a man of simplicity and innocence who keeps himself away from lusts. When he sees visions he describes it as being carried away or his hair would stand on end. He also mentions that he would spend a lot of time in prayer and fasting and meditating.

In the section of mandates, this time Hermas is visited by the Good Shepherd who gives him twelve mandates or commandments, each one is long and very detailed, yet they can be simplified for example believers should fear God but not the devil and the spirits and prophets are to be tried by their works and so on.

My favorite of the parables from the last section of the book is the one that says these times are like the winter and you cannot tell by the empty trees which are dry and which are not, if it was summer you would see some have fruit and some are barren, and so it is with the righteous and the sinner as their worlds have become so intwined that you cannot tell them apart.

Prophet Zechariah (est520-480BC)

Prophet Information:

Zechariah, meaning ‘the Lord remembers’, according to the Book of the Bee he died at a great age and was buried beside Haggai

Mission/Message:

Zechariah’s mission was very similar to Haggai’s mission. Both were concerned with spiritual renewal of the returned exiles as well as the need for the temple to be re-built.

Documentation:

The book of Zechariah is traditionally thought to have been authored by the prophet, although some readers believe that there are stark differences between the first and second half of the book and therefore must have been written by two authors. It is possible that Zechariah had just written each part of the book at different stages of his life.

Occupation:

A priest and a prophet

Best known for:

-The re-building of the temple, continuing the work of Haggai

-A detailed prediction of the Messiah (his personality, the betrayal, the crucifixion)

Attributes of his personality:

When visions are revealed to him he requests more details or an explanation, this might be so that he can analyse the meanings. He was a deep thinker.

Supernatural Aspects:

It says that the ‘word of God came to him’. He had many night visions; the book includes a series of eight visions, in these visions he would see the Lord or angels and be able to talk with them. He also speaks of angels waking him from sleep in order to reveal things to him.

Examples of prophecies:

-The prediction of the coming Messiah and detailed descriptions of him

-Apocalyptic prophecies

-The prediction of the siege of Jerusalem

End Times Prophecies:

In chapter 11, the author speaks of a ‘false shepherd’ which some believe to represent a recent church leader as many of the verses of prophecy can be linked to him.

Prophet Obadiah (est605-585BC)

Prophet Information:

Obadiah, which means “servant of the Lord”, according to the Book of the Bee he was from the country of Shechem and was a captain over fifty soldiers until he became a disciple of Elijah and became worthy of prophecy, later he died in peace

Mission/Message:

Obadiah’s message was to announce the coming destruction of Edom, the Edomites were related to the Israelites yet they had not helped when Israel was being destroyed, and they gloated over their own security.

Documentation:

The authors name is given as Obadiah however the date and place of the book is still debated. There are some parallels between the book of Jeremiah and this book, which some have suggested points to either a common source for their material. It is possible that they lived at the same time and were in some way interdependent on each other, but there are no records of this.

Best known for:

-Announcement of the coming destruction of Edom

Attributes of his personality:

Very little can be found due the shortness of the book, however it is recorded that he was possibly sent out to destroy Elijah and the prophets, but instead helped them and as a reward received the gift of prophecy.

Supernatural Aspects:

The book mentions a vision, and also the author speaks as if God had spoken directly to him

Examples of prophecies:

-The destruction of Edom

-The notion of the Deliverer

End Times Prophecies:

The establishment of the ‘Lord’s kingdom’ or the Israel state.

Prophet Nahum (est663-612BC)

Prophet Information:

Nahum, meaning “comfort”, according to the Book of the Bee he was from the city of Elkosh and was of the tribe of Simeon, died in peace and was buried in his own country.

Mission/Message:

Nahum’s mission was to portray God as one who gives refuge to those who trust in Him and as one who will not let the guilty go unpunished. In particular Nahum spoke and prophesised about the coming destruction of Nineveh, and that this would give comfort to Judah.

Documentation:

The book contains details of the vision of Nahum. The estimates of dating this book come from the events mentioned in the book. It was after the fall of Thebes in 663 and before the destruction of Nineveh in 612.

Occupation:

Unknown but his hometown was named Elkosh (location also unknown)

Best known for:

-Announcement of the coming destruction of Nineveh

Attributes of his personality:

The type of works used in the book show intense descriptions and vocabulary, the writing is poetic yet features many rhetorical questions. He was a deep thinker and analyst.

Supernatural Aspects:

The book is a vision, but it differs in the fact that other prophets would say “The Lord says” whereas Nahum describes “The Lord will” or “The Lord is”. This would give a general picture that Nahum knew the mind of God whereas others heard the words of God.

Examples of prophecies:

-The destruction of Nineveh

End Times Prophecies:

There is a possibility that the second chapter is talking about Israel being restored after ‘destroyers have laid them waste’ meaning the Israel state after the Second World War. It goes on to mention about an army in red or scarlet, which could represent a country that uses predominantly red on their flag.