The Real Truth, a magazine restoring plain understanding

Is 2012 the End?

By David C. Pack

May 10, 2010

Like the Y2K panic of 2000, 2012 hysteria is all over the Internet—in hundreds of books—and in a $200 million movie, filled with the usual sensational Hollywood graphics.

No one predicts exactly what will happen in 2012, but according to some, it will be big!—earth-shattering!—and civilization-ending! There are concerns that the entire Earth will be flooded, or burned up by solar flares. The North and South poles may suddenly reverse, wreaking untold havoc on electrical systems. Catastrophic earthquakes may rock the planet, destroying all buildings and opening huge holes in the earth’s crust. Chaos will reign. Mankind will come to the brink of annihilation.

This end date is supposedly either December 21st or 23rd, 2012. Doomsday authors point to December 21, the winter solstice. But the Mayan calendar, on which this end-of-days theory is based, ends December 23.

What is the origin of these dates—and the truth about 2012?

Mayan Myth

Much of the fantastic stories and hype come from various archaeological and astronomical speculation, as well as mythology and numerological interpretation. In reality, predictions of impending doom and destruction are nowhere to be found in Mayan accounts or in the Mayan Long Count calendar itself. This calendar tracks “Great Cycles” of time, and is one of at least three calendars that the ancient Mayans used. It is important to note that one particular calendar indicates that December 23, 2012, is the end of the current cycle of time, which began August 13, 3114 BC on the Gregorian calendar. The Mayan calendars state nothing of the world coming to an end, or of any cataclysmic events occurring. It states that only the current time cycle will end.

To the modern Mayans, including those who study the ancient calendar, 2012 is actually inconsequential. If you traveled to a present-day Mayan community and asked about 2012 and the end of civilization, you would see looks of bewilderment. Modern Mayan sources explain that this calendar was never intended to suggest the world would end in 2012, or any other time.

Still, wild ideas about 2012 abound. The frenzy is worldwide and picking up steam. Will the world come to a violent end on December 21, 2012 as so many believe? Does the Bible in any way validate 2012 as the end of all things?

Disprovable Date

For Christians, the 2012 question begins with what Jesus said about His now-near Return to Earth to establish His world-ruling kingdom: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.” Christ says that no man knows the time of His Return. This passage, and other similar ones, rule out December 2012 or any specific date that people might suggest for Christ’s Return, or even for the end of all things.

Yet this passage does not stop prophecy experts from speaking of the “end of the world,” believing that Earth itself will supposedly be destroyed. This idea stems from a misunderstanding of Matthew 24:3, in which Christ’s disciples asked Him for signs of the “end of the world.” The Greek word translated world means “age.” The disciples were asking when the period of man’s rule would end—and the kingdom of God would be established. They well understood the many Old Testament prophecies that speak of the Messiah setting up the kingdom of God on Earth.

But Matthew 24 does reveal there will be a time of worldwide distress before Christ returns, and that if He did not return, no one would survive. The human race would become extinct IF Christ did not return—yet He promises that He will! For those who believe God, this is further proof that 2012 could not possibly end human existence.

The good news is that soon after Christ’s Return and the establishment of the kingdom of God on Earth, all of the suffering you see so often today will disappear. War will be a thing of the past. So will terrorism. Crime will vanish. Children will play safely everywhere. Drugs and alcohol will no longer enslave people. Poverty will be gone. So will illiteracy. Mass healings will occur. A pure language will be used to re-educate the population. Earth’s polluted environment will finally be restored. Air will be clean. Pure drinking water will be abundant. Even the nature of animals will be changed. Joy will literally break out worldwide!

The year 2012 is not the end! Do not fear this date. All the hysteria is for nothing! God promises that human beings will never be wiped out.

For more proof about the myth of this supposed end-time date, watch The World to Come broadcast “Is 2012 the End?”