The End Of The World Is Coming Soon… Or Is It?

From the beginning of time people have been predicting the end of the world. As the Mayan calendar draws to an end on December 21 , 2012, I find myself rushing to finish this blog post. What if it I don’t get it done on time?

The beauty of the 21^st century is that the technological advances in video have provided doomsayers with the ability to share this terminal message of dread with millions of people across our soon to be passing “planet earth.”

END OF THE WORLD: HAROLD CAMPING VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Since the world may be about to end in the next few days, it might be prudent and indeed enjoyable to take a look at the recent video highlights of “false apocalyptic” predictions made by a few brave souls who simply got it wrong.

One of the most recent bawdy predictions was that of Harold Camping and Family Radio who predicted that the world would in fact end on May 21, 2011. Watch this video highlight below from the Associated Press (AP) to get more information about Camping’s prediction.

One of the more memorable stories related to the possibility that it would be the end of the world on May 21, 2011, centers around the actions of young entrepreneurs in California who sold pet insurance to Harold Camping’s followers promising to look after their pets once the rapture occurred. Of course, the world didn’t end and Harold Camping issued an apology and recalculated his sums and forecast that the world would actually end on October 21, 2011. Well, that didn’t happen either and some people were left to rebuild their lives completely.

In case you thought “apocalyptic predictions” are solely a 21^st century American phenomenon, that’s not the case. Growing up in New Zealand in the 1990’s, the late Barry Smith also spent time prophesying about the end of the world. Smith wrote a few books titled “Warning,” “Second Warning,” and “Final Warning.” Smith’s predictions did not come to pass and he ended up leaving the earth in the usual fashion.

END OF THE WORLD 2012: THE MAYAN CALENDAR

As December 21, 2012 draws near we are forced again to ask the question, “Will it be the end of the world?” Well according to this science-based video below, not exactly. If it was going to be the end of the world we would have had a bit more warning by now.

If you are still wondering what all the buzz is about (aside from the world ending) then you should know a little of the background behind the 2012 Mayan Prediction. December the 21^st is regarded as an end date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar and some Mayan predictors have suggested that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on this date.  It must be said that none of these beliefs or predictions have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.

If you are still wondering what all the buzz is about (aside from the world ending) then you should know a little of the background behind the 2012 Mayan Prediction. December 21^st is regarded as an end date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar and some Mayan predictors have suggested that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on this date.  It must be said that none of these beliefs or predictions have been accepted by mainstream scholarship. For a more in-depth look at Mayan society and what may happen on December 21^st watch these YouTube videos from Pablo Arellano’s channel.

LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW

Predictions of the world ending have become almost part of the rhythm of being; because we exist we naturally imagine the possibility of not being. Of course, the world as we know it could possibly end someday, with global warming, asteroids, and nuclear fallout all future suspects in the race to become our global assassin.

Yet, I have decided that it is possible to concentrate so much on the ending that we often forget to enjoy the story that we currently are living. So I will live like there is no tomorrow, even on December the 21^st. However, I will have my most cherished belongings tied to my wrist when I go to sleep. Just in case.  How about you?