December 21, 2012 – this is the date of the end of the world said to be based on the Mayan calendar. This doomsday information is spreading on the Internet, on the TV news, and other media – and it is scaring out many people at this moment.
Today is already the thirteenth day of December, and based on this prediction, we only have 8 days to live on the face of our planet. So would you quit your job now or stop selling merchandise to your customers? Would you sell and dispose your properties now since you could never use them anymore when the world ends? Would you stop doing your regular work or your business so that you could use the remaining few days to prepare for the end of humanity?
Before we believe in any apocalyptic prediction and take irregular actions, we have to examine first if that information is true or false. We have to gather reasonable pieces of information to gain confidence of our future.
So… will Earth come to its fate on December 21, 2012? I don’t know the absolute answer, but here are 8 major reasons why the world will not end on that day:
1. The Maya people did not tell it
Most people know that the December 21, 2012 apocalypse was predicted by the Mayans. The end of the world was interpreted to happen as the Mayan calendar cycle will end on that date. However, archaeologists and Maya civilization experts are telling us there are no pieces of evidence that the ancient Mayas predicted that the world will end on such date. In fact, Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient Mayan mural believed to be a calendar projecting events some 7,000 years forward into the future – thus contradicting the prediction that the world will end this December.
The Mayan calendar has many cycles which consist of different lengths of time, and the one that will end this month is only one of those cycles. Hence, the end of one calendar cycle should not be construed as the end of the world as we know it.
2. No man knows the exact day of our end
No man can exactly tell what will happen in the future, especially major events like the end of time. We don’t have any technology yet to predict exactly the events that will occur in the coming days. And if you are a biblical person, you know that the Bible tells us that no one knows the day our world will end, even the angels nor the Son of God don’t know, but only the Father. You can read more about it in Matthew 24:36-44 and Mark 13:32-37.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” -24:36
This passage from the Bible only tells us that the end of time will happen on a day where people are not expecting it. And since everyone is expecting that the world will end on December 21, 2012, we can just say that this date is not what’s described in the Scriptures.
3. All the biblical signs have not been fulfilled yet
The Bible, both the old and new testaments, which are written thousands of years ago, contains prophecies that were already fulfilled as of today. Some of these prophecies are signs that the end of days is nearing. These prophecies include the rising number of false prophets using the name of the Lord (Matthew 24:5-11), the rumors of wars among nations (Matthew 24:6-7), the rise of technology and increase of people’s travel (Daniel 12:4), the spread of the gospel throughout the whole world (Matthew 24:14), the return of Jews from other countries to Israel (Zephaniah 3:10-11, Jeremiah 23:7-8, Ezekiel 37:11–13), the restoration of one pure language Hebrew to Israel (Zephaniah 3:9), and other prophesies that have already been fulfilled or happening right now.
However, there are still other prophetic signs of the nearing of the end of the world that still to be completely fulfilled. These include the existence of a global government (Revelation 13:7), the rebuilding of the temple of God in Israel (Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Haggai 2:7, Malachi 3:1-2), the rise of the technology for the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:16-17), and the return or coming of the Son of Man (Luke 21-25-28).
These prophesies and signs must be fulfilled first before the fate of our world takes place.
4. Science confirms that doomsday will not happen in 2012
Now if you’re kind of a naturalist or scientist and not a Bible believer, science and physics authorities like NASA reject any doomsday prediction occurring this December. NASA confirms that the world will not end in 2012. The scientific organization also said that credible scientists worldwide claim that there are no threats to our planet associated with 2012, such as a comet or a big asteroid approaching Earth on such date. NASA also rejects apocalyptic theories such as giant solar storms, the polar shift theory, and the cosmic alignment (see no. 6).
5. Planet Nibiru is an Internet hoax
There have been rumors circulating all over the web about a strange planet called Nibiru or planet X that travels on a 3,600 years orbit and has now entered into our solar system – and is about to collide with Earth causing major catastrophes that will destroy our planet on December 2012. It is also been said that the planet is not seen by us because it is hiding behind the sun. Rumors are telling that NASA is in conspiracy to hide the truth about it. However, planet Nibiru is no other than a myth and there is no credible evidence to prove its existence.
Furthermore, the origin of Nibiru cataclysm doesn’t bring any credibility. This idea originated with Nancy Lieder, a Wisconsin woman who claims that, when she was a girl, she was contacted by gray extraterrestrials called Zetas, who implanted a communications device in her brain – Wikipedia.
The Planet Nibiru information is already declared by NASA and other scientific organization as an Internet Hoax. Hence, there is no valid reason for us to believe it as fact and reasonable.
6. There will be no catastrophic planetary alignment
Another theory associated with the 2012 apocalypse is the cosmic alignment of the sun, Earth, and the center of our galaxy on the winter solstice which said to cause major catastrophes that will lead to our destruction.
However, NASA debunked this theory as according to the organization, there are no planetary alignments in the next few decades, and even if these alignments occur, their effects on our planet wouldn’t be catastrophic. The alignments of the sun, Earth, and the center of our galaxy are considered as regular occurrence and cause no harm. Planetary alignments have already occurred in 1962, 1982 and 2000. Each December, the Earth and sun also align approximately with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, but this annual event has no destructive consequence.
To learn more about the planetary alignment phenomenon, check out NASA’s page here.
7. The world will not end in one day
Do you believe that the world will end on December 21, 2012? Well, don’t believe that. Our planet, which according to science is already around 4.5 billion years old, has already survived several major catastrophes, such as the asteroid that hit Earth 65 million years ago which also caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The Bible also tells that before the end of time comes, there will be several signs that will appear everywhere, such as great earthquakes, famine, sorrow, the appearance of the antichrist, and other signs. In other words, our Earth, which is a huge object in the solar system, cannot just be destroyed in one day.
8. Failed doomsday predictions are not unusual
December 21, 2012 is not the lone date which was predicted to be the end of the world. There have been many doomsday predictions in the past, and they all failed. Examples of notable failed apocalyptic predictions are the Mormon Armageddon in 1891 or earlier, the Y2K Bug in Jan. 1, 2000, and the latest May 21, 2011 doomsday prediction by Harold Camping. Check out more popular failed predictions in this list from Livescience.
Conclusion
Both science and the Bible debunk the theory that the world will end on December 21, 2012. We cannot also find any reliable evidence that have been discovered telling us that the Mayas predicted such date as the end of the world. Furthermore, we already know that there have been many doomsday predictions that have failed in the past. In fact, the 2012 prediction is not the last prediction on the long list lining up to occur in the future. There are other several doomsday predictions in the future beyond 2012 that are waiting in line, such as the predictions of the end of the world that will happen in the years 2129, 2240, 2280 and so on.
So what are your valid reasons to panic now? Would you quit working and stop making a living to face our fate? Or would you continue a great living that is always ready of the end of the world anytime, whether it is on December 21, 2012, on the year 2280, tomorrow or now? Finally, we cannot tell when will our own world, which is our own life, will end. Hence, we can only hope and strive to live a complete life that is worth dying for anytime from now.
Victorino Q. Abrugar is a marketing strategist and business consultant from Tacloban City, Philippines. Vic has been in the online marketing industry for more than 7 years, practicing problogging, web development, content marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and consulting.
Manuel Garcia says
Sorry, sir Vic. I’ll still believe the character of Tom Hanks. Kidding 🙂 Great article, though.
Vic says
What about Tom Hanks? Is it about the Cloud Atlas movie? Oh I have not watched it yet. 🙂 Thanks for the comment.