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| Mayan Calendars |
My question is, "So, why is the Mayan calendar the definitive dating of the end of things?" Many calendars have and do exist.
For example, according to the Christian calendar it is AD 2012, or 2012 CE. That would also make it 1433 AH in the Islamic calendar and 5772 in the Jewish calendar. The Jewish New Year begins in September, and the Islamic New Year is in November. The Christian New Year is in January. Throw in the Chinese calendar, and it is 4710, the year of the Dragon, and that new year will fall between late January to middle of February depending upon the lunar cycle.
Before we get to my point, where did the three major world calendars originate?
The Christian calendar begins in the approximate year of
Jesus’ birth and is a modification of the Roman calendar in use until the 16th century. The Latin words translated “Before Christ” (BC) and “In the Year of
our Lord” (AD) mark the years before and after Jesus’ birth. With the onslaught
of pluralism in our culture, many use “before the Common Era” (BCE) and “Common
Era” (CE) for the same numerical years.
Muslims begin their calendar in the year Mohammed migrated from Mecca to Medina, which was about AD 622 in the Christian calendar. AH are the Arabic letters that stand for the words “After Hegria,” which mean after the departure or separation.
The Jewish calendar begins with the creation of the earth, some 6,000 years ago based on calculations in the Torah.
Each calendar has its own intricacies, and they share some common characteristics as to counting days in relation to the sun and moon, but those three calendars are the basic starting points for counting years of time for most of the world's population.
So, which calendar is definitive as to the end of time and how we mark the rising and setting of the sun?
A calendar is a culture's way of marking the natural movement of our sun, moon and stars. It is a way to add meaning to our lives and to mark meaningful events in our histories.
I am a Christian. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, is the definitive person-event in the movement of planets and people's lives from which I see and interpret the world. I take this stance not because of my ethnocentric world-view, which I admit I inherited, but because I trust Jesus is who he said he is: God's' Only Son, the Christ, the Resurrected Lord of the Universe.
When Jesus walked on earth, he told of the end of His-story, but he did not use calendar dates. As a matter of fact, he said, "As to the day or hour [of his return] no one knows, not even the angels, nor even the Son, only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) He came to offer peace with God and the restoration of all things. He did this through his life, death, burial and resurrection, and all Time converges on and expands from that epoch of time.
Trusting the One who will rule at the end of time is more important than knowing when the world will end.
So, enjoy the hype over 12-21-12, but put your trust in the One who will stand as Lord of Lords when time as we know it--or calendar it--is over.
By the way, I have a 2012 calendar on my refrigerator that ends on December 31, 2012, and I have no 2013 calendar. Does that mean time ends when my calendar ends?
Muslims begin their calendar in the year Mohammed migrated from Mecca to Medina, which was about AD 622 in the Christian calendar. AH are the Arabic letters that stand for the words “After Hegria,” which mean after the departure or separation.
The Jewish calendar begins with the creation of the earth, some 6,000 years ago based on calculations in the Torah.
Each calendar has its own intricacies, and they share some common characteristics as to counting days in relation to the sun and moon, but those three calendars are the basic starting points for counting years of time for most of the world's population.
So, which calendar is definitive as to the end of time and how we mark the rising and setting of the sun?
A calendar is a culture's way of marking the natural movement of our sun, moon and stars. It is a way to add meaning to our lives and to mark meaningful events in our histories.
I am a Christian. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, is the definitive person-event in the movement of planets and people's lives from which I see and interpret the world. I take this stance not because of my ethnocentric world-view, which I admit I inherited, but because I trust Jesus is who he said he is: God's' Only Son, the Christ, the Resurrected Lord of the Universe.
When Jesus walked on earth, he told of the end of His-story, but he did not use calendar dates. As a matter of fact, he said, "As to the day or hour [of his return] no one knows, not even the angels, nor even the Son, only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) He came to offer peace with God and the restoration of all things. He did this through his life, death, burial and resurrection, and all Time converges on and expands from that epoch of time.
Trusting the One who will rule at the end of time is more important than knowing when the world will end.
So, enjoy the hype over 12-21-12, but put your trust in the One who will stand as Lord of Lords when time as we know it--or calendar it--is over.
By the way, I have a 2012 calendar on my refrigerator that ends on December 31, 2012, and I have no 2013 calendar. Does that mean time ends when my calendar ends?
You can read NASA's answer to the 2012 doomsday prediction here.
PS Up until this sentence the word count of this blog entry is 666. Does that bother you?
PS Up until this sentence the word count of this blog entry is 666. Does that bother you?