What about the year 2012?
William Wright
Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009
It seems since the beginning of the world people have been trying to predict its end. The latest comes from the creation cycles of the Mayan Long Count calendar which ends Dec. 21, 2012 A.D.
Is this another doomsday prophecy or a misrepresentation of the Mayan calendar serving as a platform for social concerns or for profit? What do experts say?
Astronomer Philip Plait said the Mayan calendar does not end in 2012 at all. He likened it to the odometer on a car because the base year for the Mayan Long Count starts at “0.0.0.0.0.” As each section of the odometer reaches 9 then clicks over to 0, so the next number to it starts a new cycle.
As all the numbers again reach 0 across the odometer, the last number will change from 1 to 2 and the new cycle starts all over again. The Mayan calendar is similar. Would resetting a calendar mark the end of the world?
Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla., said, “For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle.”
She said to portray Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or a moment of cosmic shifting is “a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.”At the heart of all the speculation as to what will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, is an alleged Mayan prediction that the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. What impact, if any, this will have on the Earth is the basis for all the speculation.
Many scholars doubt the ancient Maya made any conclusions on what this alignment would mean, if in fact, they were even aware of an alignment. Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said, “We have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point.”
University of Florida anthropologist Susan Gillespie said such
2012 predictions come from the “media and from other people making use of the Maya past to fulfill agendas that are really their own.”
Although certain environmentalists are promoting the notion that we need to reconnect with the Earth to save ourselves, some wonder about the need to reconnect with God to save ourselves. Which would you say is more important?
According to the Bible at
2 Peter 3:13, a change is coming that will mark the end of life as we know it and usher in
“new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” This will be more than a cosmic shift or a change in attitudes to save the planet.
For those who believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God and that the end will come by an act of God, not by an act of nature, they accept Jesus’ words at
Mark 13:32, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
While the Bible accurately predicted a composite sign marking the last days and provides many indications as to where we are in the stream of time, it made clear that
“The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night,” — 1Thessalonians 5:2.
Since no one but God knows that exact day, Jesus said at
Matthew 24:44, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.”
How can that be when so many people are expecting the world’s end? While
Matthew 24:14 predicted the good news of the Kingdom would be preached in all the world before the end comes, verses 37-39 indicates people would be distracted with everyday things like eating, drinking and marrying and fail to realize the urgency of the times.
Some will even say in their heart
“My master delayeth his coming” and turn on their fellow servants and regress in moral standards, according to verses 48-51.
How can true Christians avoid this outcome? If we keep that day close in mind by staying spiritually awake to world events and keep
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,” as
2Peter 3:12 advised, we won’t take for granted the need to pray regularly, read the Bible daily and apply its counsel while sharing its message with others whenever possible.
To be sure, none of us knows what tomorrow will bring. Disasters happen everyday. Something good or something bad may happen in 2012 or nothing may happen. I believe a wonderful change is coming. Prayers for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven will soon be answered. That change won’t come by men or by nature but by God.
As Jesus assured us at
Revelation 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Millions join the Apostle John at
Revelation 22:20 in saying,
“Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
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