In view of the Pope’s upcoming trip to Israel (May 11-15) and Ariel Sharon continuing to teeter at the brink of death, it seemed apropos to “resurrect” this montage of Biblical, Christian, Quranic, political and Nostradamian notions.
When this piece was first published, in November 2005, Ariel Sharon was Israel’s Prime Minister. In January 2006, Sharon suffered a massive stroke and slipped into a deep coma. His fate looked grimly sealed. The plausibility and certitude of the vision behind the art began to erode rapidly.
Yet, here we are, more than three years later: Sharon remains in a persistent vegetative state and Pope Benedict XVI is coming for a visit.
The interpretation embedded in this strange work differs from virtually all other commentators on the quatrains of Nostradamus; it identifies the city of “two rivers” as Jerusalem, despite the fact that it’s located in near-desert conditions. It defines the children of Abraham (Ishmael and Isaac, plus their respective descendants), as the two rivers of Abraham’s blood.
The sanguinary parallels continue: This is also the place where ritual human sacrifice was emphatically repudiated by G-d through angelic intervention; and the location at which Abraham circumcised himself, his two sons and all the men of his house. And since those days (more than 3,700 years ago), how much blood has watered this most sacred ground?
Reproduced courtesy of VizReport
imahd.ca 
After more than 8 years in a coma, former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon finally succumbs to the stroke that put him under. Rest in peace, Arik.
http://www.thetower.org/ariesharon/
Sharon’s condition worsens, cited as ‘grave’ by doctors, family by his side…
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-pm-sharons-condition-worsens-21474736
The eighth anniversary of Ariel Sharon’s coma was marked on Saturday by friends and family, with doctors noting that his prospects appeared bleak, even in the very short term.
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Hospital-update-Sharon-continues-to-fight-for-his-life-337117
Almost eight years after Sharon’s stroke and resulting, persistent coma, another Pope (this time Francis) makes plans for a visit…
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Vatican-advance-team-to-arrive-to-plan-Popes-visit-333429
Even after seven years: Ariel Sharon shows significant neural activity
http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=301134
Whew! Thank goodness that’s over! Pope safely boards plane at Ben Gurion International Airport.
[…Before boarding an airplane for Rome at Israel’s international airport later in the day, the pope appeared to address some of the criticism leveled at him for a speech on the Holocaust that some Israelis felt was lukewarm, calling his visit to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem “one of the most solemn moments of my stay in Israel.” He also called Israel’s West Bank separation barrier “one of the saddest sights” of his visit.]
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212382821&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull