Nostradamus: Prophet or Phony? Do the writings of Nostradamus predict the death of Queen Elizabeth II?

Written by: Mark Hitchcock Sep 16, > 2022

In the immediate aftermath of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, articles have flooded the internet claiming that the legendary French astrologer Nostradamus predicted her death and other events related to the British royal family.

So, what should we make of all this? Is there any validity to these astounding claims? Who was Nostradamus?

Michel de Nostradame, better known as Nostradamus, was born in St. Remy, Provence, France in 1503 and died in 1566. Nostradamus was an apothecary (a medieval pharmacist) as well as a popular astronomer and seer. His best-known book is Les Propheties (The Prophecies). Nostradamus began to write his prophetic verses in 1554. They are divided into ten sections, called Centuries, which were published in 1555 and 1558 and have been in print continuously ever since.

The famous predictions he recorded are written in a “coded format” called quatrains, which are mysterious verses or poems with four lines.

To come up with his predictions, he used a technique called “scrying.” This occult practice involves concentration on a shiny object—like a crystal ball, bowl of water, or mirror—until normal vision recedes, and visions are seen. Nostradamus used bowls of water. He surrounded his writing table with candles while waiting, ready with quill and ink, as he gazed into the bowl. Nostradamus then translated his alleged visions into words.

The visions he received evidently did not occur in chronological order, so they are random and very difficult to place in any context. Most of Nostradamus’ quatrains deal with devastation and disasters, such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, famines, and battles.

They are vague enough to be applied to any number of situations, so many of his readers have begun to claim he predicted events like the discovery of penicillin, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the great fire of London, the AIDS virus, 9/11, the demise of communism and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—to mention just a few.

To help you get a feel for his writings, here are two samples of his quatrains and what they allegedly predicted. You be the judge.

The Rise of Hitler

The first, Quatrain 3-35, is often connected with the rise of Hitler.

From the very depths of the West of Europe, A young child will be born of poor people, He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop: His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.

Followers of Nostradamus point also to Quatrain 2-24 as another proof text for his accuracy. They maintain that “Hister” below is a coded reference to Hitler:

Beasts ferocious from hunger will swim across rivers: The greater part of the region will be against the Hister, The great one will cause it to be dragged in an iron cage, When the German child will observe nothing.

So what about this Hitler prophecy? Simply put, like the rest of his prophecies, it is vague, and does not specifically refer to Hitler at all. His name—assuming that’s what was intended—isn’t even spelled correctly. In fact, the original document refers to “Hister sera,” not Hitler.

In Quatrain 2-24, Nostradamus talks about conflict, division, strife, and war. He also specifically mentions the area in and around Germany, which, of course, has been the site of countless battles and conflicts throughout history. Another key problem is that “Hister sera” almost certainly does not refer to a person at all, but to a place.

September 11, 2001

Others allege that Nostradamus prophesied the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. I remember countless people talking about this online in the months following those attacks.

These Nostradamus believers quoted Century 1-87 to make their point:

Earthshaking fire from the center of the Earth Will cause the towers of the New City to shake: Two great rocks will war for a long time, And then Arethusa shall color a new river red.

The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude Fire approaches the great new city Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up When the want to have verification from the Normans [French].

Earthshaking fire from the center of the Earth Will cause the towers of the New City to shake: Two great rocks will war for a long time, And then Arethusa shall color a new river red.

The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude Fire approaches the great new city Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up When the want to have verification from the Normans [French].

But that’s actually a misquote or mistranslation of Century 1-87. A more accurate version of it says this:

Earthshaking fire from the center of the earth will cause tremors around the New City. Two great rocks will war for a long time, then Arethusa will redden a new river.

It takes a very fertile imagination to see any relation between these lines and 9/11, especially in the latter translation. The only possible connections are “fire” and possibly “New City.” The rest of the quatrain makes no sense.

The Demise of the British Monarchy

As we should probably expect by now, the internet has blown up the past week, with all kinds of claims about prophecies of Nostradamus related to the British monarch. Many are pointing to a book by Mario Reading—first published in 2006—in which he predicts, based on writings from Nostradamus, that Queen Elizabeth II would die “circa 2022,” at the age of 96, and that the monarchy would quickly descend into chaos.

This is based, in part, on Century 8-97:

At the end of the war, the great powers change. Near the coast three beautiful children are born. They will ruin the people when they come of age. They will change the kingdom and see it grow no more.

Experts contend that the children refer to Princes William and Henry, and Princess Beatrice, all grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The referenced war, in this case, is the UK’s conflict with Argentina over the Falklands in 1982.

Seven days after that conflict ended, Princess Diana of Wales gave birth to the first of her children, William. This article states the belief of Nostradamus enthusiasts regarding this moment:

…the prophecy would be warning that, after the death of the Queen, the British monarchy would be doomed to disappear and, incidentally, would be a foretaste that the new King Charles III will not spend much time on the throne, because of his advanced age, while his successor Prince William could turn the country into a republic for the second time in its history.

…the prophecy would be warning that, after the death of the Queen, the British monarchy would be doomed to disappear and, incidentally, would be a foretaste that the new King Charles III will not spend much time on the throne, because of his advanced age, while his successor Prince William could turn the country into a republic for the second time in its history.

Talk about shoehorning the facts to find fulfillment. Obviously this requires reading quite a bit between the lines.

Another quatrain that is making the rounds on the internet is Century 10-22:

For not wishing to consent to the divorce, Which then afterwards will be recognized as unworthy: The King of the Isles will be driven out by force, In his place put one who will have no mark of a king.

This supposedly points to the divorce of Prince Charles from Princess Diana and the fact that Charles will be quickly deposed as king. Then, someone other than his oldest son will succeed him—maybe Prince Harry?

Again, as with all these quatrains, this is wild speculation. There is no historical or chronological context for any of this other than the mention of a “King” and “divorce.” Think of how many kings throughout history have been divorced and replaced by a usurper to the throne.

Saying “No” to Nostradamus

All of this highlights a couple of very serious problems with the purported prophecies of Nostradamus. First, there are many alleged translations of his work all over the internet that differ greatly from one another, and in some cases, appear even to have been “doctored” to better fit the proposed fulfillment of the prophecy.

Second, as you can surely see, his prophecies are extremely vague and general, allowing people to read almost whatever they want into the meaning. That makes them useless for prediction. That’s why these quatrains have been and continue to be used to “fulfill” hundreds of events since the time they were written.

But even if Nostradamus did occasionally hit a prophecy or two, it’s not because he knew the future. It’s simply due to the fact that if you “predict” enough future events, something close to one of them is bound to happen occasionally. It’s like the old saying: “Even a clock that doesn’t work is right twice a day.”

Presumptuous Prophecies

Beyond that, it’s critical for us to remember that the Bible strictly forbids the kind of divination and fortune-telling that Nostradamus practiced. What he engaged in was not a harmless, innocuous, or even entertaining practice. It was divination—a practice explicitly condemned in the Bible:

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.” —Deuteronomy 18:10-12

When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”—Deuteronomy 18:22

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.” —Deuteronomy 18:10-12

When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”—Deuteronomy 18:22

This isn’t the only passage about this topic. See also Jeremiah 27:9, Isaiah 47:13-14, and Revelation 21:8.

Those who traffic in divination, spiritism, sorcery, and other occult practices are explicitly warned against that practice by God. And we are commanded not to listen to their presumptuous prophecies.

As you can see, I don’t put any stock whatsoever in the so-called “prophecies” of Nostradamus and neither should you. They are vague, cryptic, false prophecies derived from the unbiblical practice of divination and sorcery.

What a contrast to the specific, clear prophecies of the Bible! The Bible contains around 1,000 prophecies, and 500 have been clearly, literally fulfilled with 100-percent accuracy. The Bible has an astounding track record. The Bible alone accurately tells the future.

If you want to know what lies ahead, stick with God’s Word.