Major panic and fear has entered into our day. People everywhere are terrified that the world is going to end in 2012. In fact, there has even been a major motion picture that has just recently been released to hype the whole thing. Apparently, it's all based on a Mayan calendar and astronomical "facts" that will bring the planets into alignment and cause all sorts of destruction and mayhem.

So, what are we, as Christians, supposed to make of all this? Well, initially I simply dismissed it and ignored it as ridiculous and silly. Furthermore, I assumed that everybody else would do the same. However, I have found out that I was wrong. People are legitimately worried about this. They think that astronomy has something to do with it, and Christians in particular (especially those who have been taught Premillennial dispensationalism, i.e. Left Behind and the Late Great Planet Earth) have bought into the 2012 story—hook, line, and sinker.

In fact, recently I was giving a presentation to dozens of Christian school teachers. After the question and answer period, a lady walked up to me to ask me about the 2012 scare. At first I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't laugh because she was serious. She had a genuine look of fear in her eye, and she wanted to know if any of it was true. I realized then that the 4th Day Alliance needed to post something to address the issue. Since we are into astronomy, it's only natural that people are going to ask Alliance members about this.

It seems like hoaxes based on astronomical myths will never go away. Furthermore, it seems like the gullibility of the public is expanding exponentially. This is most unfortunate. Nevertheless, we must combat these problems with the same tool that has always worked from the beginning of time—the TRUTH!

The Mayan Calendar

Without getting deep into the workings of the Mayan calendar system, on December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar is going to turn over. It will be the end of one of their units of time, called a baktun. A baktun is 144,000 days, which is a little bit longer than 394 years. By their calendar system, December 21, 2012, is the end of Baktun 13. So what? Well, that's it. There's nothing to it. Even if we assume that we have properly aligned the Mayans calendars with our calendars, it doesn't mean anything. The Baktun is just one of the Mayans units of time. Just like we have years, decades, centuries, and millennium; the Mayans had katuns, baktuns (20 katuns), and pictuns (20 baktuns). That's it folks. There's nothing else to it.

Unfortunately, in the 70s, a series of books and myths were popularized which explained that the Mayan calendars predicted doom at various dates within this generation. December 21, 2012, was one date, December 24, 2011, was another popular one, and still others were given. This was also a period of great unrest among the Christian community as Hal Lindsey's book, The Late Great Planet Earth predicted that the world was about to end and Hal Lindsey and his followers believed that Jesus would rapture the church out of the world in 1980 or 1981. Of course, those predictions were changed by different authors and prophecy pundits to 1984, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, and now of course 2012. Basically, these prophecy "experts" terrify the people into believing that the world is about to end—they give them a date, and then when the prophecy doesn't happen, they change the date and push it out a little bit further. Of course, they sell millions of books, give hundreds of lectures, and take up huge offerings in the process.

In essence, the only thing that all of the doomsday prophets (Christian and secular) have in common is this—they're all dead wrong. Furthermore, astronomy has nothing to do with the end of the world!

Galactic Alignment

Perhaps you have heard that the winter solstice of 2012 and the centerline of the galaxy will "line up." This is pure nonsense. Astronomy cannot even pinpoint such a "galactic alignment" to within a year, let alone a day. In fact, the entire process of making the measurement is mostly arbitrary since it is based on the following unknown variables: the loose definition of the galactic equator, the difficulty in determining the visual appearance of the Milky Way galaxy, and the definition of the Milky Way's edges. Even if we could accurately measure all of these things, it still wouldn't matter. The "galactic alignment" wouldn't shake one turtle off of a curb on the earth.

The Alignment of the Planets

Boy, if we had a nickel for every time somebody said that something was going to happen because of the "alignment of the planets," we would have enough money to plant a church in every city in the world! Now, people are saying that the alignment of the planets are going to cause the end of the world in 2012.

Apparently, the topic has been a favorite on late night radio shows complete with "expert" guests describing the potential of a reversal of the Earth's magnetic field, etc. Again, this is ridiculous. In true reality (and in every historical occurrence of the same), guess what happens when the planets actually come into alignment? Nothing! That's what happens.

To make this even sillier, the planets will not be in alignment on December 21, 2012. The picture to the left (courtesy of Sky and Telescope) shows you what the planets' positions will be relative to each other on December 21, 2012. Do they look aligned to you?

The Evil Planet Nibiru

This one is a real doozie. Apparently, there is a planet called Nibiru that is hiding out in our Solar System that is on a collision course with the Earth. Remarkably, Nibiru is going to crash into the Earth in 2012 and NASA knows all about it but they are keeping the information from the public.

Of course, there is no such planet. This hasn't stopped the rumor from circulating all over the internet, however. In fact, we were told that Nibiru can already be seen from the Southern Hemisphere (how convenient was that?). Then, last year, Nibiru was supposed to become visible in the Northern Hemisphere. But, like the proverbial "check in the mail," the secret rapture of the 1980s, and a bad blind date, Nibiru never showed up.

Conclusion of the Whole Matter

While some of this is amusing, it is disturbing to see how many Christians get "seduced" by the hysteria. As Christians, it is most important for us to keep our minds on the following things:

• No man knows the day nor the hour of the Lord's return
• The entire world is in the hand of God
• Governments and social institutions cannot save us, only Jesus can!
• Fear is a tool of the devil and has no place in the heart of a Christian

May 2012 be the best year that you've ever had! Lord bless...

Tags: 2012, hoax