It doesn’t seem that long ago since the hype, hysteria and scaremongering of Y2K fizzled out. Prior to that, the Jehovah’s Witnesses concocted a variety of dates in the previous century when the Lord Jesus was supposed to return. Unsurprisingly, the Lord didn’t return on those dates since Jesus clearly taught that no man knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24.36).
December coming?
Nevertheless, when engaging in open-air evangelism, one question that keeps cropping up time and time again is ‘what about December 21 2012 when either the world will supposedly end or something major is going to happen?’ In response, I usually mention the above and ask them why 2012 should be any different? The reply typically involves the complexity of the Mayan calendar predictions and the completion of its cycle, plus the I Ching, ancient Egyptian beliefs and the prophesies of Nostradamus being in common agreement. The decisive presupposition seems to be that if several worldviews share similarities about 2012 being a highly significant event, then it cannot be a coincidence.
See that no one deceives you
In each of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus starts the Olivet discourse with the words: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you’ (Matthew 24.4, Mark 13.5, Luke 21.8). Luke 21.8 also includes, ‘The time has drawn near’, though commands, ‘Therefore do not go after them’.
The Bible has a perfect track record of fulfilled prophecy. The acid test to determine whether someone is a true prophet is whether the things they have stated come to pass and if they don’t then they have acted presumptuously (Deuteronomy 18.22). Believers should not believe every spirit, but test them, since many false spirits have gone out into the world (1 John 4.1). At this point, any thinking person should consider, have the Mayans, the I Ching Taoist method of fortune telling, the ancient Egyptians or Nostradamus unequivocally predicted future events with unmistakeable accuracy? If the answer is no, then their claims can be dismissed automatically because they are false prophets.
Why the agreed prediction?
Why then do several unrelated different spiritual philosophies share similar views about 2012? This is a good question though it is also loaded with two assumptions: 1) that they are unrelated, and 2) that they are saying the same thing. While admittedly the representatives of these opinions were separated by geography, they share comparable astrological assumptions and, since they open themselves up to occult practices, it is no surprise that they are being fed the same lies by the evil one.
Firstly, Isaiah’s prophecy toward Babylon is pertinent in this situation. People try to read the future using astrology and the signs of the zodiac, though they are of no benefit. ‘Stand now with your enchantments and the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have laboured from your youth — perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; let now the astrologers, the stargazers and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you’ (Isaiah 47.12-13).
A few weeks ago I spoke to a young man who has decided to save and plan his holiday, especially for a week before Christmas. He was convinced by the 2012 predictions though they provide no hope. Like all of us he needs to know the true Saviour who has declared the end from the beginning.
Secondly, the mentioned representatives are not all saying the same thing. Possibilities include the end of the world, a new era or a major disaster for those not embracing those views! There is consensus that something major will happen in 2012, though we know that, unless the Lord returns, inevitably there will be more earthquakes, famines, wars and pestilence regardless.
Mayan scholars
Though the Mayans, in particular, could boast of an elaborate calendar that utilised three systems of chronology, and, to a lesser extent, the Aztecs also had impressive timekeeping skills, that does not mean that their calendars are determinative of predicting worldwide cataclysmic events.
Mayan scholar Mark Van Stone PhD, GF, in his article ‘It’s not the end of the world’, believes Maya prophecies should be read very critically, since he believes that they are fragmentary, contradictory, manipulated, misunderstood, contain errors, do not mention destruction, imply that life will continue without disruption after 2012 and confirm that the solstices were of minor importance.
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, writing for USA Today, quoted Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida, who stated: ‘To render December 21 2012 as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is “a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in”, and Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History: “We have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point”’.
Better than Nostradamus
Nostradamus wrote a series of quatrains (four-line poems) predicting events over ten centuries. The style of writing is open-ended and frequently non-specific, making it possible to insert or fit occurrences in relation to events that have already happened. It is easier to match a historical event and find a corresponding quatrain than to state what is likely to happen from a quatrain and then evidence that when it takes place.
The Bible is different. Concerning the arrival of the Messiah, it was foretold specifically that Jesus would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem Ephrathah, from the tribe of Judah; he would be preceded by a messenger; though he would be betrayed, he would be silent before his accusers; he would be crucified and his clothes wagered for; he would die alongside the wicked, would be buried in a rich man’s tomb and would arise from the grave; he would come to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19.10). The odds of that sequence of events occurring by coincidence are miniscule and there are scores of other prophesies fulfilled in Christ besides! These cannot be ignored and clearly demonstrate the divinity of the Lord Jesus and the unassailable authority of the Bible.
The second coming of Christ
Though we do not know the day or the hour, we are assured that the Lord will return again and when he does we will meet him as either our Judge or our Saviour! Are you ready for his return? 2012 will come and go, new fads and theories will emerge, though the Lord Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and forever, and the word of God endures forever (Hebrews13.8; 1 Peter 1.25).
Jon Taylor is a member of the FIEC Pastors’ Association and a researcher for the Reachout Trust.
