How heavily this burden of prophet or seer rested on his shoulders, nobody would know, but at the age of 20, he had already started greying and was chosen as an elder in his church the following year. At 30, neighboring farmers older than he called him "Oom Niklaas." "Oom" translates to "uncle" in English and is widely used among Afrikaners as a sign of respect for somebody older than oneself.
Many may wonder just how well-known van Rensburg's prophecies are in both the English and Afrikaans languages.
Snyman believes he has the answer.
"In 1916, van Rensburg had a vision that toward the end of the century, the Afrikaners/Boers, his people, would become more and more interested in his visions," Snyman said.
"At that time, he told a very good friend of his, Mr. Boy Mussmann, who lived in Vryburg, the following: 'There will come a time when I will be much in the news again. At that time, I saw that we as a nation were still arguing amongst one another, and then suddenly we had a black government. Then only will the Afrikaners' most bitter struggle begin. ... I see a time when the whole world will be plowed under. (According to Snyman, this is the beginning of World War III, when everything will be in disorder and confusion will reign.) Then I saw a snake lying on the plowed land. I could not see its head or tail.'"
Since its publication in 1995, the book "Boodskapper van God" about van Rensburg has become a national best seller in Afrikaans, running through eight editions with nearly 50,000 copies sold, and it is still on the local best-sellers list. Snyman's own work, the English translation "Voice of a Prophet," is now in its second printing. The SABC made a documentary about the Seer in 1999, and it was televised no less than three times within as many weeks.
Says Snyman, "Van Rensburg's visions are so well-known by his people that they are regularly discussed in Parliament, and some years back a prominent MP flew off the handle and [the scene] ended in a brawl with a member of the opposition."
Snyman told WorldNetDaily that during a parliamentary discussion in January 1991, a Conservative MP mentioned a vision of Seer van Rensburg regarding a diamond the size of a sheep's head that still lay undiscovered in the Western Transvaal diamond fields. Since then, diamond prospectors have been searching for this hidden sheep's head-size diamond and constantly inquire as to when and where the diamond will be found.
Asked how ANC and South African Communist Party supporters feel about van Rensburg's prophecies, Snyman was resolute.
"I don't think they like what he said, because he not only predicted that thousands of blacks in Africa would die of hunger or a terrible sickness – perhaps, sadly, AIDS or Ebola – but also that one day the Afrikaner will take back his land and freedom," he said.
Snyman said that he has been threatened by unknown parties about his work concerning van Rensburg.
"Since my wife, Annelize, and I started publishing the old seer's visions in 1991, we have been intimidated in many ways. Someone will phone us at 2 o'clock in the morning and say, 'The first person leaving your house tomorrow morning will be shot!' Then he'll hang up," he said.
"Last year, I went on a nation-wide tour to inform my people about the seer's predictions for the near future and warn them of a blood-bath that will follow the death of a prominent black man. Some party or parties tried to stop me by phoning my wife and telling her she would receive me back with a bullet in the head. Nevertheless, I finished my tour, visiting 64 towns and cities and speaking to about 30,000 people. At some of these meetings there were more English-speaking people than Afrikaners."
Vision about AIDS/HIV
Snyman told WND that on Dec. 12, 1917, van Rensburg saw a large tank coming from the north of Africa. Fine sheep droppings rolled out from it. Snyman believes that this might be sexually transmitted diseases. The tank rolled south and the world changed into a dung yard.
Says Snyman, "A vision of van Rensburg on the 30th of March, 1918, links up with this one: A little old '******' sits dressed in women's clothing (he is homosexual) and dung rolls off him on the western side. (He is not only afflicted with this disease, but spreads it among the Western nations.) [Van Rensburg] then told his friend, Boy Mussmann, that 'many millions will die of this terrible disease.'"
In a vision about Afrikaner freedom, van Rensburg said, "There will be more treason, more abuse, yes, I see more division and more flowing of blood than during the Rebellion." (During the 1914 Rebellion, the Boers took up arms and sided with Germany.) This is not just our blood, but I also see an unbelievable miracle happening. When I saw this miracle, I knew only then that the struggle of my people (for freedom and a free country, a republic of their own) will be over, and then it will be the end of the time of my visions. ..."
The second part of that vision, in van Rensburg's words, says, "We are going to have more trouble with the blacks, for years ago, shortly after the War, I saw a small black person rising halfway out of the earth. Then I had another vision. I saw he had grown into a mighty warrior who now appeared fully out of the earth, and the shadow of the spear and shield he held above his head fell right across the land. This is far in the future. Then he disappears into fog. But before that time, I also saw darkness descending down over the land. My advice is, fight, even if you do so with your backs to the wall!"
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=27588