Michele de Nostredame was a French apothecary who lived in the 16th century.Known to history in the Latinized version of his name, Nostradamus is arguably the most popular person who wrote prophecies in modern times. His writings continue to influence us even after hundreds of years have passed since he has passed away. His book entitled The Prophecies has always been in print since it first appeared in 1555.
Many people look to his writings for indications of world events and predictions of what might happen. All of his prophecies were written in verses of four lines, which are called quatrains. For fear of being accused of heresy by the church (the Inquisition was ongoing then) he used several languages in writing his quatrains. That made his meaning obscure to the reader.
Some people say that his predictions can be interpreted in any way that you like but to many his meanings are clear. He has predicted with accuracy several world events that have taken place and have mentioned names that are familiar to us now as figures in history, but were meaningless to someone from his time. One of the great predictions of Nostradamus was his writing about the 9/11 attack. He mentioned that twin brothers will collapse in the city of York. He did mention the year and the month but he said nothing about the date of the attack. Still he is credited with this prediction.
Because of all this, it is very interesting to study the writings of Nostradamus. Especially now that the year 2012 is approaching. Some of his followers claim that he made certain predictions regarding the rise of the anti-Christ happening on that year. Some people say that it is no coincidence that other prophecies hold the year to be significant. The Mayans for example say that great events will transpire by December 2012 since that would be the end of their calendar which was based on celestial movements. Although a lot of people have used his prophecies in the past for their own ends, Nostradamus doomsday predictions are still worth studying and given some serious consideration. We might be reading our future in his writings.
Some people however are unimpressed by the predictions that have been made by Nostradamus. They say that his writings are all so obscure that they could mean almost anything. They accuse him deliberately couching his quatrains with meaningless writings that could be read later as predictions of almost anything. Indeed, it is a fact that even the most devoted Nostradamus students are sometimes confounded by the way that he wrote his predictions.
Whatever is the truth behind Nostradamus doomsday predictions his writings are still worth studying, because he has made such an impact on our culture, that he continues to have a significant influence even today. People still look up to his writings as pieces of divinely inspired visions. If you would like to know more about he had to say, then start researching on the life and works of Nostradamus.