The Daughter of Babylon versus Israel

Who will win?

One of the first things noticed about Nostradamus is the use of mysterious pseudonyms for states, alliances, individuals throughout the writings. One of the most common is Aquilon, which most likely represents a group of northern European countries. Less common but equally interesting pseudonym is Babylon. Babylon appears several times in the quatrains, and once in the most important part of the Epistle to King Henry II.

This article is not dedicated to Babylon but to Israel and the future that Nostradamus predicts for that country. There may be more quatrains that speak about Israel, but this is a quatrain with a high probability that can be said to speak about it:

Quatrain VIII-96

La synagogue sterile sans nul fruit
Sera receu entre les infideles
De Babylon la fille du porsuit
Misere & triste lui trenchera les aisles.

The sterile synagogue without any fruit,
will be received by the infidels,
the daughter of the persecuted (man) of Babylon,
miserable and sad, they will clip her wings.

Let's try to interpret the quatrain. First, let's go through Nostradamus's terminology and translate it into our language. "Received" is most likely a substitute for invasion and conquest. "Clip wings" stands for defeat. Arabs, meaning Muslims, are referred to as "infidels," and the "sterile synagogue" represents powerless Israel. Translated and rearranged in the order of events, the quatrain would look like this:

The daughter of Babylon (in pursuit, or persecuted) will defeat weak and sad Israel, then Arabs will invade and conquer it.

Okay, everything is clear, Nostradamus predicts a dark end for Israel. But not everything is clear yet because the main character of this story is still uncertain. Who is Babylon? Who is the daughter of Babylon?

This will be helped by perhaps the most important part of the Epistle to King Henry II, which certainly speaks of the apocalyptic end of the world and the Antichrist's kingdom on earth before the return of Jesus Christ.

The Grand Empire of Antichrist

Then shall begin the grand Empire of Antichrist in the Atila and Xerxes, [who is] to descend with innumerable multitudes, so that the coming of the Holy Spirit, issuing from the 48th degree, shall make a transmigration, chasing away the abomination of Antichrist, that made war upon the royal person of the great vicar of Jesus Christ, and against His Church, and reign per tempus, et in occasione temporis [for a time, and to the end of time].

This will be preceded by an eclipse of the sun, more obscure and tenebrose than has ever been since the creation of the world, up to the death and passion of Jesus Christ, and from thence till now. There will be in the month of October a grand revolution [translation] made, such that one would think that the librating body of the earth had lost its natural movement in the abyss of perpetual darkness. There will be seen precursive signs in the spring-time, and after extreme changes ensuing, reversal of kingdoms, and great earthquakes [i.e. wars]. All this accompanied with the procreations of the New Babylon, a miserable prostitute augmented with the abomination of the first holocaust. It will only continue for seventy-three years seven months.

But is it really so? Have we fallen into Nostradamus's trap again, full of disguised terms and developments, all complicated by the wrong order of events? Let's try to simplify things by creating a list of events to see what we'll get:

1. Eclipse of the sun

2. Revolutions, wars, earthquakes in the spring

3. Revolution in October establishes the grand Empire of Antichrist

4. Procreations of the New Babylon

5. The grand Empire of Antichrist descends with innumerable multitudes

6. It will last more than seventy-three years.

Not only I, but also other commentators of Nostradamus, have recognized in this sequence the October Revolution, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

The "Eclipse of the sun" may be a reference to Fatima, the apparition of the Virgin Mary, and the famous miracle of the Sun in 1917. The end of the First World War and the post-war period were marked by unrest, revolutions, the fall of empires, and in Russia, two revolutions resulting in the establishment of the Soviet Union.

The fifth point refers to the Second World War when the eastern half of Europe fell under the rule of the Soviet Union, which defeated Hitler's Germany and captured Berlin in 1945, "with innumerable multitudes."

But wait, doesn't Nostradamus speak of the Soviet Union as the empire of the Antichrist? Those who know a little more will say, how is that possible when Nostradamus's Antichrists are known to be Napoleon, Hitler, and the third, unknown one from the future?

This is a mistake that many commentators of Nostradamus make without thinking, by declaring Hitler as the (second) Antichrist, which Nostradamus did not indicate anywhere in his writings. On the other hand, the connection between the Antichrist and Babylon is clear and unbreakable.

So, the question remains: who is the Second Antichrist, the ruler of the Soviet Union? The answer suggests itself, Stalin. The monster under whose rule tens of millions disappeared fully deserves his dreadful title. Good job, Nostradamus.

And, finally, let's clarify the period that Nostradamus gives for the beginning and end of the Soviet Union. There are official dates of establishment and dissolution, but they do not match. The period exactly matches these significant dates in the history of the Soviet Union. Perhaps Nostradamus considered them more important than the official dates of birth and death.

January 21, 1918: The Bolshevik government officially forms the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

On August 19, 1991, a significant event known as the August Coup occurred in the Soviet Union. This coup attempt was orchestrated by hardline members of the Communist Party and government officials who were opposed to the reforms initiated by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, particularly his policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness).

Exactly seventy-three years seven months.

Wait a moment, someone might ask, the story is more or less convincing, but the dates don't match, is there any additional confirmation in other writings that Nostradamus is talking about Stalin and the Soviet Union?

Here is the quatrain that dispels all doubts:

Quatrain X-86

Comme vn gryphon viendra le Roy d'Europe,
Accompagné de ceux d'Aquilon,
De rouges & blancs conduira grand troupe,
Et iront contre le Roy de Babylon.

Like a griffin will come the King of Europe,
Accompanied by those of "Aquilon":
He will lead a great troop of red ones and white ones,
And they will go against the King of Babylon.

Once again, we find ourselves entangled in apocalyptic language. In our minds, we see a powerful European ruler gathering an army and marching towards the Middle East to overthrow the mighty king of Babylon.

Assuming that the king of Babylon is Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, who is this king of Europe who sent a mighty army against him and his country? Of course, it is Hitler and the decisive "Barbarossa" operation, which began on June 22, 1941.

Alright, now we know everything, we know who Babylon is, who the (second) Antichrist is, we know that the stories woven around Babylon are not set in apocalyptic times.

But wait, quatrain VIII-96 does not speak of Babylon but of the daughter of Babylon! We still haven't moved from the beginning. Who is this daughter, the enemy of Israel?

There is only one answer that suggests itself, and which I believe readers have already surmised. There is only one successor to the Soviet Union, only one child, and that is present-day Russia. It can be said that Russia is the Soviet Union, only in a smaller format, but it has inherited all its power, perhaps even its spirit.

Let's return once more to the interpretation of quatrain VIII-96 and put the final piece of the puzzle in its place:

Russia (in pursuit, or persecuted) will defeat weak and sad Israel, then Arabs will invade and conquer it.

We can expect, probably by the end of this decade, a conflict between Russia and Israel in which Russia will inflict an incurable defeat on Israel. These events will be exploited by Arab neighbors who will conquer Israel, surely accompanied by terrible human suffering.

Nostradamus is not the only one predicting a Russian-Israeli conflict. Greek monks with the gift of prophecy predict future events mostly related to Greece and its neighbors, but also touch on important world events. They say that in the period before or at the beginning of the third world war, Russia will make a breakthrough to the Middle East, and its armies will stop at Jerusalem. This aligns perfectly with what Nostradamus says.