Chapter 46: The Apostle Saint Peter

Phenomenology of World Religions ©

Chapter 46

The Apostle Saint Peter

What little is known about Simon Peter, known as Peter in the Gospels, as Jesus referred to him and chose to be one of his twelve disciples, is that he was a fisherman by trade and lived in house shared with his brother, Andrew, who also became a disciple of Jesus and later beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.

It was Andrew who discovered Jesus and who returned one day to Peter who was fishing along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and told Simon Peter that he had found the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets of the Hebrew/Greek scriptures of the Old Testament. Upon hearing this, Simon Peter dropped his fishing net and went to see for himself.

Nothing has been recorded, or at least survived in history, any reference to Simon Peter's life before that time. Much of what we do know was recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament scriptures of the canonical Holy Bible.

Michel De Nostradame: The Nostradamus Prophecies

In an article I wrote previously, Prophecy of 2012, the Mayan Calendar Prophecy, a French apothecary turned prophet was mentioned. His name was Michel de Nostredame (Latin = Nostradamus).

Michel de Nostradamus was born on December 14^th 1503 and died July 2^nd, 1566. He was a French Apothecary and a seer who published collections of his prophecies that have become famous around the globe. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, the first edition published in 1555. This book has rarely been out of print since his death and it has attracted cult popularity among millions throughout its history.

Nostradamus was part of the French Renaissance and his prophecies have been applied to the alleged Bible Code and other prophetic works, such as the Mayan Calendar theory.

Nostradamus’ birthplace is questionable, but it has been established by scholars as Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in the south of France on December 14^th, 1503 (though it still is “official” among circles as December 21^st). He was one of nine children of Reyniére de St-Rémy and grain dealer and notary Jaume de Nostredame. The family had a Jewish background, but Jaume's father, Guy Gassonet, had converted to Catholicism around 1455, taking the Christian name “Pierre” and the surname “Nostredame”. His known siblings included Delphine, Jehan (1507-1577), Pierre, Hector, Louis (born 1522), Bertrand, Jean and Antoine (born 1523). Not much else is known about Nostradamus’ childhood, although it is surmised that he was educated by his maternal great-grandfather.

When Nostradamus was 15 years old he entered the University of Avignon to study for his baccalaureate. After one year he was forced to leave Avignon when the university closed down because of an outbreak of plague. In 1529, after some years in the field of apothecary, he entered the University of Montpellier to study for a doctorate in medicine. He was expelled shortly after when it was discovered he had been an apothecary, a trade banned by the university. The expulsion document still exists in the faculty library. After his expulsion, Nostradamus continued working as an apothecary and became famous for creating the “rose pill” that supposedly protected people against the plague. 

Chapter 8: Jesus of Nazareth, The Christ of Christianity

Phenomenology of World Religion

Chapter 18

Jesus of Nazareth - Foreword

There are also many things which Jesus did, that if they should be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain all the books that would be written. Saint John the Apostle/Evangelist

Introduction to Chapter Eight

Before I begin the complex examination of the historical and spiritual character known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Christ, I would like to inform the reader that scripture passages quoted come from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, unless otherwise noted. I do this because I feel that re-translated scriptures and text from the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments have corrupted its meaning. It is like whispering a phrase in a circle of friends and by the time it reaches back to the originator, it is out of context. The Holy Bible is an anthology of texts, Hebrew in origin and later written in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Middle English and many other languages, totaling to about 80 languages and dialects.