End of the Earth Postponed
"It's a good news/bad news situation for believers in the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. The good news is that the Mayan "Long Count" calendar may not end on Dec. 21, 2012 (and, by extension, the world may not end along with it). The bad news for prophecy believers? If the calendar doesn't end in December 2012, no one knows when it actually will - or if it has already.
A new critique, published as a chapter in the new textbook "Calendars and Years II: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient and Medieval World" (Oxbow Books, 2010), argues that the accepted conversions of dates from Mayan to the modern calendar may be off by as much as 50 or 100 years. That would throw the supposed and over hyped 2012 apocalypse off by decades and cast into doubt the dates of historical Mayan events. (The doomsday worries are based on the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, much as our year ends on Dec. 31.) Stephanie Pappas;Live Science Senior Writer"
Live Science.com Stephanie Pappas Tue Oct 19, 7:35 am ET
You know,just the other day, I was looking at the expiration date on one of my favorite magazines "The Ensign" and I noticed that the last date was Feb 2012. And for one ridiculous minute I truly pondered if I should go ahead and renew this magazine or if it was worth it. I mean before I could stop myself, I heard the words echoing in my head "it's only 10 months till Dec 2012". OMG!!! I had to reach out and pull myself off the ledge to the abyss. And then the next day, I read about it in the funny papers. (Remember "Men in Black")
I am always amazed at what you find in the "funny papers". I would like to say; "Finally" this Mayan Calendar myth is debunked, but just like Fox Mulder said on the "X-FILES". The truth is out there.
I have to say, that this has been one of the more insidious "End of the World" myths. I say insidious because I know that the group or groups of persons, who discovered and perpetrated this, had to know how ridiculous it would be. But in the words of P.T. Barnum: "There is a sucker born every minute". And where there is money to be made therein lays the rub.
There is a big business surrounding this Mayan Prophecy thing. There are numerous websites devoted to it. There have been so many books written on the subject,there was even a movie based on it called, what else: "2012". For some reason, and I can only assume that the Mayans or their "descendants" did not want to be mis-represented;so oddly the movie focused on Buddhist monks. The movie opens with a monk praying and then preparing to bang a large gong. As the camera pulls away you see a big tsunami wave of water heading his way. This is probably the best part of the movie.It goes down hill after this;figurative and literally.After watching this movie, I came away with a terrible glimpse of the future. There was no one in this movie to "save the day". No superman, no lone ranger, even Wonder Woman. The government was used as a "protagonist" if you will. The government knew of the impending doom, and started to make a list of names, and then created a "lottery" so that only those with the winning ticket would be saved and thus find refuge on an "ark". Yeah, the government in this movie built 3 arks (?) You get the picture.(a strange reference to Christopher Columbus).
Now before I begin a full fledged rant: My husband thinks that I make much ado about nothing. But,I believe that all of this is an affront to the truth. It is the little things that will end the world, not these big in your face things.It is the little things, like the complete erosion of our faith in the One True God. It is the small stuff like a man standing in front of his church, inviting all to a "Qumran book burning".It is the small things like another man in a wheel chair who says,that "God was not responsible for the creation of the Earth."
I suppose that a great guide to life can be found in the "Old Testament" chronicles of the ancient children of Israel. One can read and discover how bit by small bit,this group of people turned away from God and explored other religions,other "gods",other theology. (It was their right to choose) They eventually gave themselves over to those "small gods". They stopped teaching their children about God, and denied the existence of God. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. When you make conscious decision to turn away from that which is good, you will be left to your own devices.
So is the end of the world really about mass destruction and no hope, or is the return of the Savior Jesus Christ about hope and salvation?
Isaiah 64:3-5
3 When You did awesome things for which we did not look,You came down,The mountains shook at Your presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world,Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
9 But as it is written: “ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,Nor have entered into the heart of man,The things which God has prepared for those who love Him
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
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