End of the world prophecies on or about 2012-DEC-21
Interpretations of the significance
of the precise date of 2012-DEC-21
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Interpretations of the significance of the Mayan calendar:
Various beliefs are circulating:
Pessimism: Some interpreters believe that the Mayans expected that the
world would last
precisely 13 Baktun -- about 5,125.36 of our years -- and then self-destruct in
some way. That is, they anticipated the end of the world in the day 13.0.0.0.0 in the
Mayan notation. This is the date of the Winter Solstice,
on 2012-DEC-21 CE in in our (Gregorian) calendar.
1 See below.
Astronomical event: John
Jenkins has determined that on this date, there will be "an extremely close
conjunction of the winter solstice sun with the crossing point of Galactic Equator and the
ecliptic." This is an event that will not be repeated for thousands of years
in the future.
Our galaxy is relatively flat with spiral arms. Our sun, the Earth,
and other planets in the solar system are gradually rotating around the
center of our galaxy. Because the galaxy is so flat, it presumably has an
equator. However, with the current level of astronomical knowledge and
collected data, we are at a loss to understand how astronomers could predict
with absolute precision exactly where the galaxy's equator is located, and
when our solar system's equator will match it. We suspect that they cannot, within an accuracy of a few centuries, let alone one day.
Optimism: Author Carl Johan Calleman disagrees that the Mayan calendar predicts a major transition in the world. He writes that "the Mayan calendar is about the
progress of evolution, not about the end of the world." 2,3 Many other authors have taken alternate optimistic views and predict
positive changes in the world -- mostly spiritual.
Realism: Consider some facts:
Total number of Maya glyphs -- inscriptions, typically "... carved in wood or stone, or molded in stucco" found: thousands.
Number containing a reference to 2012-DEC-21: Two, one of which was discovered recently.
Topic mentioned in these two glyphs: the return of a Mayan god-man to Earth.
Number of glyphs containing references to dates after 2012: dozens or hundreds.
One can safely believe that the Mayan did not expect the world to end in 2012 as has been suggested in many books.
If it did, prophecies later than this date would not make a great deal of sense
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Our opinion, for what it is worth:
Unfortunately, various authors and commentators cannot agree on whether:
All life on Earth will end on this date, or
Humans will be almost wiped out, or
Humanity will be elevated to a higher spiritual plane, or
A new human species will evolve, or
Some other major development will occur.
We normally confine our website activities to merely reporting the beliefs
and findings of others without interjecting our opinions. However, because of
the seriousness of this prophecy, and the extreme fear that it may generate in
some people, we have decided to intrude here with our own beliefs.
The Mayans
were apparently familiar with the Great Year of about 26,000 years. This is the time interval during which the area of the sky that the Earth's axis points -- currently the North Star -- passes through all the signs of the zodiac. The Mayan intentionally divided this interval into exactly five equal-length World Ages. We
feel that this subdivision is an excellent indicator that the Mayans expected the world to
continue past their day 13.0.0.0.0 into a brand new World Age.
We believe that all books and Internet references to an
earth-shaking change in 2012 should be regarded as fictional works of imagination. We speculate that no
major changes will happen at the Winter Solstice of 2012, except to the author of this essay ; hopefully he will still be alive and would have entered into his 76th year two days previously. But to be certain, we are probably going to have to wait and see
what events unfold.
We have a hunch that this date has become a favorite among
authors because:
It is reasonably close to the present time, so its immediacy would
attract the interest of the public.
It was far enough into the future when the books started to be published that almost all of the eventual book
sales will probably have been made by 2012. The authors will have already
deposited all of the royalty checks in his/her bank account
and be lounging on a tropical beach somewhere anticipating a relaxing winter solstice and Christmas
day on 2012.
Please pardon the cynicism, but we have seen it happen before: from Hal Lindsey''s book "The Late, Great Planet Earth,"
to the end of the world in 1988, to the Millennial scare and associated computer
collapses, to fear mongering about 2012. Authors have trucked away massive amounts of money extracted from gullible readers.
What really troubles me is the potential that many people around the world will actually expect the end of the world, become agitated and frightened, and decide to end their lives via suicide to avoid the catastrophe that will never materialize. This happened during 2011 when Harold Camping predicted that the Rapture would happen on MAY-21, and the destruction of the world on OCT-21. The count of dead bodies may well be much larger during 2012 because of the massive publicity that 2012-DEC-21 has received. The authors will have blood on their hands like Camping does.
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