Will The World End In 2012?
http://www.southasianconnection.com/articles/451/1/Will-The-World-End-In-2012/Page1.html
Joseph Mattera
Joseph Mattera has been in full-time ministry since 1980 and is currently the overseeing Bishop of Resurrection Church in New York.
Known as “a leader’s leader,” Joseph is also a virtuoso on the guitar. He has received formal education in Kingsborough Community College, Elohim Bible Institute, received ministerial training from The International Christian Center, and has received an honorary diploma from Zion Bible Institute. Joseph earned a Doctor of Divinity from the Christian Leadership Seminary, participated in BILD (Biblical Institute for Leadership Development), successfully completed a one-year certificate program with the Wilberforce Forum, and has earned a Doctor of Ministry from Bakke Graduate University, with a concentration in Biblical Worldview and Urban Ministry.
Joseph and his wife Joyce founded Resurrection Church in 1984. A multi ethnic congregation of 40 nationalities, Resurrection Church has developed and sent out high-impact leadership and numerous non-profit corporations that have greatly impacted nations and the New York region, such as Children of the City (COC regularly ministers to more than 2,000 at-risk children with counseling, after school programs, tutoring, mentoring, and other holistic ministries) and The Ekklesia Leadership Institute (which held intensive monthly seminars and week-long summits with a focus of raising up the next generation of leadership with a Christian world and life view).Joseph also has hosted his own radio show “Light Your City” and a weekly cable television programs “The Ekklesia.” He is a regular contributor to Christian newspapers, and through the years has given numerous radio and television interviews and press conferences, including guest appearances on TBN. His first published book Ruling in the Gates was released in April 2003 and has already had international acclaim.In recognition of his years of faithful service and significant influence, numerous local and national bishops and apostolic leaders consecrated Joseph to the Office of Bishop on April 29, 2006.
Joseph, his wife, Joyce and their five children live in Brooklyn, New York.
By Joseph Mattera
Published on 11/23/2009
2012 is produced, directed and written by the same person who made “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” that depicts the end of the world. What makes this 2012 movie different is that it illustrates a cataclysmic event on December 21, 2012 as prophesied by the ancient Mayan calendar. Basically, the Mayans believed that the god of war and creation, Bolon Yokte, will descend from the sky and judge the earth. Proponents of this view include the best-selling author of the book The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin, who claims that secret biblical codes when unlocked show the earth pounded by comets in 2012. Another proponent, Lawrence Joseph, author of the book Apocalypse 2012, says that on the day in question the sun will be in exact alignment with the center of our galaxy resulting in some kind of gravitational shift that will throw our planet out of orbit, causing catastrophe.
2012 is a movie produced, directed and written by the same person who made “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” that depicts the end of the world.
What makes this movie different is that it illustrates a cataclysmic event on December 21, 2012 as prophesied by the ancient Mayan calendar. The Mayans were a civilization that flourished in Central America until they mysteriously disappeared around A.D. 900.
So many people are panicking that NASA has intervened to allay public fears and prevent mass hysteria! To quote an article by David Leafe: “‘Two years ago, I got a question each week about 2012,’ says David Morrison, director of NASA’s Lunar Science Institute in California. ‘Now I’m getting a dozen a day and people are really worried. A couple of teenagers over here have told me they were contemplating suicide rather than facing the end of the world and I’ve also had quite a few questions from England. One of the saddest inquiries was from a woman who said her only friend was her cat. She wanted to know if she should have him put down before 2012 so that he wouldn’t suffer.’”
What lends credence to these predictions is the incredible accuracy of some Mayan astronomical calculations regarding the length of the lunar month (they were only off by 34 seconds based on modern calculations) and their accurate forecasting of the movement of planets such as Jupiter and Mars (an astonishing feat given that they didn’t have use of telescopes and modern technology).
Basically, the Mayans believed that the god of war and creation, Bolon Yokte, will descend from the sky and judge the earth. Proponents of this view include the best-selling author of the book The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin, who claims that secret biblical codes when unlocked show the earth pounded by comets in 2012. Another proponent, Lawrence Joseph, author of the book Apocalypse 2012, says that on the day in question the sun will be in exact alignment with the center of our galaxy resulting in some kind of gravitational shift that will throw our planet out of orbit, causing catastrophe.
The following are reasons why I do not believe this Mayan prophecy:
• David Morrison of NASA dismisses the idea put forth in the film of a mysterious planet named Nibiru that is heading towards a crash landing with the earth in three years. Astronomers say no such planet exists and that if it were only three years away from hitting us it would already be the largest star in the sky and visible to the human eye.
• NASA says the magnetic polarity of the earth adjusts every four hundred thousand years and there is no evidence to suggest that it will happen anytime soon.
• The earth has always been vulnerable to hits by comets and asteroids, but such hits are only dangerous if the object is at least one mile wide. Strikes like this are so rare astronomers estimate that the last one took place about 65 million years ago. Also, NASA’s “Near Earth Object Program” is able to forecast sizable hits on the earth at least one hundred years away and they see no such hits in sight.
• The biggest threat to our existence is not extraterrestrial but the terrestrial eruption of a super volcano such as the Yellowstone Volcano in Wyoming that is ominously rumbling and has the potential to unleash and explosion equal to the power of 1,000 hydrogen bombs which would cut off sunlight from the earth and plunge our planet into a nuclear winter.
In conclusion, the word of God teaches us the end of human history as we know it will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He judges the world in righteousness (Read 2 Thes. 1). Jesus said the times and the seasons for His second coming and setting up of His eternal kingdom on earth are only known to the Father (Read Acts 1 and Matthew 24). As accurate as some of the predictions of the Mayan civilization were, I am not afraid of a mythical god of war and creation. I only fear the most high God who alone determines the times and seasons of human history (Ecclesiastes 3).
Joseph Mattera
2012 is produced, directed and written by the same person who made “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” that depicts the end of the world. What makes this 2012 movie different is that it illustrates a cataclysmic event on December 21, 2012 as prophesied by the ancient Mayan calendar. Basically, the Mayans believed that the god of war and creation, Bolon Yokte, will descend from the sky and judge the earth. Proponents of this view include the best-selling author of the book The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin, who claims that secret biblical codes when unlocked show the earth pounded by comets in 2012. Another proponent, Lawrence Joseph, author of the book Apocalypse 2012, says that on the day in question the sun will be in exact alignment with the center of our galaxy resulting in some kind of gravitational shift that will throw our planet out of orbit, causing catastrophe. 2012 Movie
2012 is a movie produced, directed and written by the same person who made “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” that depicts the end of the world.What makes this movie different is that it illustrates a cataclysmic event on December 21, 2012 as prophesied by the ancient Mayan calendar. The Mayans were a civilization that flourished in Central America until they mysteriously disappeared around A.D. 900.
So many people are panicking that NASA has intervened to allay public fears and prevent mass hysteria! To quote an article by David Leafe: “‘Two years ago, I got a question each week about 2012,’ says David Morrison, director of NASA’s Lunar Science Institute in California. ‘Now I’m getting a dozen a day and people are really worried. A couple of teenagers over here have told me they were contemplating suicide rather than facing the end of the world and I’ve also had quite a few questions from England. One of the saddest inquiries was from a woman who said her only friend was her cat. She wanted to know if she should have him put down before 2012 so that he wouldn’t suffer.’”
What lends credence to these predictions is the incredible accuracy of some Mayan astronomical calculations regarding the length of the lunar month (they were only off by 34 seconds based on modern calculations) and their accurate forecasting of the movement of planets such as Jupiter and Mars (an astonishing feat given that they didn’t have use of telescopes and modern technology).
Basically, the Mayans believed that the god of war and creation, Bolon Yokte, will descend from the sky and judge the earth. Proponents of this view include the best-selling author of the book The Bible Code, Michael Drosnin, who claims that secret biblical codes when unlocked show the earth pounded by comets in 2012. Another proponent, Lawrence Joseph, author of the book Apocalypse 2012, says that on the day in question the sun will be in exact alignment with the center of our galaxy resulting in some kind of gravitational shift that will throw our planet out of orbit, causing catastrophe.
The following are reasons why I do not believe this Mayan prophecy:
• David Morrison of NASA dismisses the idea put forth in the film of a mysterious planet named Nibiru that is heading towards a crash landing with the earth in three years. Astronomers say no such planet exists and that if it were only three years away from hitting us it would already be the largest star in the sky and visible to the human eye.
• NASA says the magnetic polarity of the earth adjusts every four hundred thousand years and there is no evidence to suggest that it will happen anytime soon.
• The earth has always been vulnerable to hits by comets and asteroids, but such hits are only dangerous if the object is at least one mile wide. Strikes like this are so rare astronomers estimate that the last one took place about 65 million years ago. Also, NASA’s “Near Earth Object Program” is able to forecast sizable hits on the earth at least one hundred years away and they see no such hits in sight.
• The biggest threat to our existence is not extraterrestrial but the terrestrial eruption of a super volcano such as the Yellowstone Volcano in Wyoming that is ominously rumbling and has the potential to unleash and explosion equal to the power of 1,000 hydrogen bombs which would cut off sunlight from the earth and plunge our planet into a nuclear winter.
In conclusion, the word of God teaches us the end of human history as we know it will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He judges the world in righteousness (Read 2 Thes. 1). Jesus said the times and the seasons for His second coming and setting up of His eternal kingdom on earth are only known to the Father (Read Acts 1 and Matthew 24). As accurate as some of the predictions of the Mayan civilization were, I am not afraid of a mythical god of war and creation. I only fear the most high God who alone determines the times and seasons of human history (Ecclesiastes 3).
Joseph Mattera