The end is nigh? Probably not!
If you are reading this after the 12th December 2012, Whew, breathe a sigh of relief. For that is the latest date predicted to be the end of the world as we know it. Some people believe that a cataclysmic event will happen then, while the New Age view is that it will herald a spiritual transformation or a new era.
It's the fault of the Maya
Apparently it is all down to an ancient tribe, the Maya whose Long Count calendar runs on a 5,125-year cycle, which ends this year on December 12. The 12/12/12 Phenomenon has a nice ring to it, but it could also be the 21st or 24th depending on which calculation method you use. So if you are looking for an excuse not to buy Christmas presents this year.....!
Even the actor Bill Roache, (Ken Barlow in the long-running British soap Coronation Street, as you may know) got into the act by declaring that the date would welcome in a period of love. “This will be the Golden Age when a majority will know they are love and they are spiritual beings.”
Now which of us would argue with that, if it meant that people were nicer to each other and less selfish?
Do we feel sorry for those that take it seriously?
Of course we may take all of this with a huge pinch of salt, for there have been previous predictions that didn't come to pass, including some by pastors (who should know better) quoting from the Bible. But it's the people who have taken it seriously that we really feel sorry for, some that have even sold all of their possessions in readiness for the final day. How do you put your life back together after that humiliation?
Or how about those that pay massive amounts of money to buy space in a survival condo in Kansas or an underground shelter that has a year's supply of fuel, water, food and clothing, in Indiana. Surely if the world ends, it ends there too?
No one knows the date
The actual date of the return of Jesus Christ has not been divulged to anyone. No one, period!
Jesus himself said that only God knows. The not knowing serves to keep Christians focussed on doing what they can today for God, not leaving it until nearer some magic date. Our focus should be on God, not on second guessing when the world will end.
But the reality is that every day life comes to an end for many people. Now that can either be a threat or a promise; a threat of dying without Jesus with all that entails, or the promise of an eternal life spent with Him. Now that promise is a reason to look forward to the end of the world, whenever it is.
