One of the things people have in common, no matter their faith or culture, is an interest in things yet to come. Every generation has its prophets and seers, mainly because of the old supply and demand theory: if someone wants to hear (and pay) for a glimpse into the future, there will always be someone else trying to figure out a way to answer such a demand.
Perhaps not surprisingly, based on the way our culture only reports bad news, most of the prophecies over the years have been catastrophic. Everything from rather routine predictions for Armageddon to comets hitting earth to space aliens coming for a select few and the only way to meet the space ship is via suicide (ala Heavens Gate cult).
As one of my pastor’s at church reminded us on New Year’s Day, this year is no exception for doomsday predictions. The newest is, of course, the end of time as predicted by the centuries-old Mayan calendar, which some believe ends on December 21st of this year. I don’t know much about the Mayan calendars, but I did read that time doesn’t actually end on that day. The Mayans simply didn’t use enough digits in their original computation. Evidently on December 21st the numbers, like on a car odometer when it turns 999,999, the numbers would flip back to zero and time—and the calendar—will simply go on. Remember Y2K when we all thought the world would descend into chaos because computers wouldn’t recognize anything beyond two digits to keep track of the year? (Not Macs, just PCs.)
Then there is the Planet X scenario, with a previously unknown planet set to hit earth some time this year. Or sun flares that would be catastrophic to our atmosphere. Or a sudden switch in earth’s magnetic fields.
Being married to a Physics teacher, not many of these predictions pass the giggle test. Amazingly, despite widespread access to reliable scientists, people still walk around with fears that science could easily dismiss. There is no possible chance a planet could be out there close enough to hit us that scientists wouldn’t know about; the sun has been burning for five billion years, will burn for another five billion and is currently in its most stable phase. And while the magnetic fields have switched in the past, it happens every half million years or so and we might be due for another in the next few thousand years. In any case, it’s not a sudden switch and involves a fading in and out that scientists continually monitor.
The Bible does predict the end of this earth as we know it, but it doesn’t give an hour for such a thing to occur. There’s obviously a reason for that: God wants us to trust Him not only with the little stuff, but with the big stuff as well. He doesn’t want us to stop serving the Kingdom by being fooled that the end is near.
I rarely make New Year’s Resolutions, so all I’ll say is to keep moving forward with your eyes on Heaven!
And Happy New Year!
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