Is 2012 the End of the World?

Remember the end of 1999 when everyone was scared about Y2K? When the new millennium arrived, computers were expected to crash and life as we know it would never be the same. The year 2000 was ushered in without any major glitches. Then, there was Harold Camping predicting that the world would end on May 21, 2011, and when that didn’t happen, he predicted the date to be October 21, 2011. Of course, all of these dates have passed and the world carries on. All of the latest Apocalypse talk has focused on the Mayan calendar and has people asking, “Is 2012 the end of the world?”

The Mayan’s famous Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C. and is set to run out 5,126 years later. That year is 2012 A.D. and more specifically, December 21 of this year. The Mayans are known as one of the most highly skilled and intelligent ancient civilizations. That alone is enough to make many people in the world today take the Long Count calendar as absolute truth.

However, Christians know a higher power. The true and real ultimate authority of our world is God. If 2012 is the end of the world, wouldn’t God have told us that in the Bible? In Matthew 24, He does tell us events that we can expect to happen in the end times. Jesus said there will be wars, famine, earthquakes, false prophets, persecution of Christians, and other forms of pain and suffering.

Haven’t these things been happening already? There is destruction all over the world and it’s been going on for quite some time. Why hasn’t Christ returned yet? Maybe 2012 really is the end of the world.

Not so fast. We find a deeper answer in God’s Word. Several times in the Bible, it is told that Christ’s second coming will happen unexpectedly. It will surprise everyone. Take a look at these three verses talking about the end times:

“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).

“You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40).

Even Jesus didn’t know the time, while He was on the Earth. He says in Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So, banking on December 21, 2012, as the end of the world is futile. It could be tomorrow. It could be 100 years away. Nobody knows, but God the Father.

With this in mind, as Christians, what do we say to people that ask if 2012 is the end of the world? Just like with all other situations where people are lead astray by sin, we serve as a witness for Christ. We tell them of Christ’s love, and the grace and mercy He gave to us by dying on the cross to forgive our sins. We point them to the one source of truth—the Holy Bible. And, we pray for them. We pray fervently to God that He would bring them to true faith.