As I write this, there is a considerable amount of hoopla being generated by the approaching deadline of the year 2012. For those of you who might not be aware of the significance of this date, I will take a moment to explain what the uproar is all about.

    The Mayans were an ancient race of people who had prepared a calendar that has astounded scientists and astronomers because of its accuracy. The year 2012 on their calendar, which is fast approaching, marks a significant event. On December 21, 2012, there will be a rare alignment of the sun with the earth at a specific point on the galactic equator. The last time this alignment occurred was twenty-six thousand years ago. The Mayans marked the time from the first alignment to December 2012 in increments of 5,125 years. They had a name for each segment of time. The final one was named "The Jaguar." This time was viewed as a major transition and according to Mayan tradition, when the Jaguar dies it will "shiver and shake" indicating an increase in earthquake and volcanic activity. The media and popular entertainment are viewing this event as a time of great upheaval and natural disasters on a scale unprecedented in human history.

    According to NASA there is no scientific evidence to support any claims regarding the end of the world, etc. The fact is, the sun crosses the galactic equator twice a year without any ill effects on earth and the particular position it lands in 2012, should not make any difference. So, how do we explain the increase in earthquake and volcanic activity in the last century?

    Jesus spoke of a time of trouble unlike the world has ever seen which is referred to as the apocalypse or time of the end (Matthew 24:3, 21) which precedes Jesus' second coming. The prophetic book of Revelation says that when the seventh angel sounds time shall be no more - (Revelation 10:6, 7). Is it referring to 2012?

    Some of the Christian leaders, my brothers in the faith, are shrugging 2012 off because of various reasons, some due to the fact that there are events recorded in the book of Revelation that have not occurred according to their, or their denomination’s interpretation of those events. Revelation is a collection of visions and dreams and it requires a certain amount of revelation from God in order to be able to understand it. Therefore many interpretations of the book that have been previously accepted could be in error. Events that have been thought not to have happened as yet could have already been fulfilled in principle. In other words, some interpretations may only represent a spiritual truth and not a literal event.

    We have to remember that Jesus was rejected by the Jews because He did not align with their preconceived concept of the Messiah, because they had misinterpreted the Scriptures concerning His arrival. We must be careful not to make the same error regarding Revelation and hold onto preconceived interpretations and miss an opportunity to prepare ourselves for what may lie ahead.

    I recently sought to explore a little bit of Mayan history to see if I might discover something that could shed some further light upon the accuracy of their end time predictions. One of the encyclopedias I studied explained the Mayan’s system of marking time. They began by counting forward from a fixed, hypothetical point and then marked the date in periods of time based on the number 20 and then counted in intervals of 1, 20, 360, 7200 – and 144,000 days.

    The number 144,000 jumped out at me like a rocket. To those of us familiar with the Bible, the number 144,000 is highly significant. It is the number used to designate the Lord’s remnant in Revelation, chapter seven.

    God knows the future and He foresaw the time when the world would be aware of the looming specter of the year 2012. Did He place a coded message within the text of the book of Revelation that would tie the number 144,000 with the Mayan prediction in order to confirm the year 2012 as a significant event in Biblical prophecy?

    Jesus said that - "There will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" - Luke 21:25. In Revelation eight, verse 12, when the fourth angel sounds, a third part of the sun, moon and stars are smitten. This could be highly symbolic, but immediately after this warning in Chapter nine, there is a tremendous unleashing of demonic activity through what seems to be a massive volcanic eruption.

    If there is no scientific evidence for an onslaught of natural disasters, then there could be another explanation, one that relates to this increase of demonic activity. NASA could well be stumped on this one; a supernatural explanation for these events is obviously beyond the scientifically trained mind. Yet, they cannot offer any scientific explanation for the events that Jesus foretold - "And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." - Luke 21:11.

    I don’t know for sure what will happen on December 21, 2012, but what I do know is this - it is foolish to shrug off the significance of this event and not take advantage of the opportunities it presents to share the Gospel. If the church began to operate as if the world is going to end in 2012, how do you think it would affect they way we live and minister? Would we suddenly begin to encapsulate the zeal that possessed the first century church that lived and worked as if the Lord was going to return any minute? Is there anything wrong with that?

    We have been called to replace fear in the hearts of the people with faith. We have been given a great gift and can offer genuine hope in a time of uncertainty; and if we fail to respond to this world wide wake up call to repent before it is too late, whether through ignorance or complacency we will have missed a vital, and possibly once in a 26,000 year opportunity to reach the world for Jesus.

Copyright 2009 by H.D. Shively