And Just Because…

… we have emerged unscathed from the Mayan Apocalypse [major miscalculation = FAIL], here’s something far more solid:

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

[24:1] Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. [2] But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

[3] As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. [5] For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. [6] And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

[9] “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. [10] And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. [11] And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. [12] And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. [13] But the one who endures to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

[15] “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), [16] then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. [17] Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, [18] and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. [19] And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! [20] Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. [21] For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. [22] And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. [23] Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. [24] For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. [25] See, I have told you beforehand. [26] So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. [27] For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [28] Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

[29] “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [30] Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [31] And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

[32] “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. [33] So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. [34] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. [35] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

[36] “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. [37] For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [38] For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, [39] and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [40] Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. [42] Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [43] But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

[45] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? [46] Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. [47] Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. [48] But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ [49] and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, [50] the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know [51] and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

- St Matthew 24

Of course, the key is to be ready.

So let’s get on with ADVENT!

The Mystery of the Mayan Calendar Revealed!

Good Morning! I’m Still Around…

… And you?

The world, according to some, was supposed to have ended today (21st of December) at around 04:30 in the morning, CAT (that’s for us in Africa). And yet I see that our Australia and New Zealand brethren have successfully crossed over well into December 21 without their world ending. Here, we are!

No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows.

- St Mark 13:32

So I hope you have a really blessed and Mayan-less day! The end is not nigh… for now…

 

If you Really Believe the Nonsense About the World Ending on December 21…

Then prove it by giving away all your money.  So says a Chilean Bishop:

 Bishop Bernardo Bastres Florence of Punta Arenas, Chile has an interesting suggestion for those convinced that the world will end Dec. 21, as predicted by the Mayan calendar.

According to local newspaper La Prensa Austral, the bishop said that those who believe the Mayan prophecy should donate their worldly goods to the Church.

“If there are many who believe the world will end on Dec. 21, as the Church, we have no problem with them naming us as the beneficiaries of their possessions in their wills,” he quipped in a Dec. 9 interview.

Doomsday predictions about the end of the world, as documented by the Mayans, have circulated in recent years and grown in popularity. The Mayan Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., which accounts for time in 394-year periods known as Baktuns. The Mayans allegedly believed that the last, or 13th Baktun, ends Dec. 21, 2012.

To those who are convinced that the world is ending next week, Bishop Bastres said “I assure them that after Dec. 21, we will eternally pray for them.”

“Because I am sure that we will all be alive after that date. If they wish to pass on, they could do enormous good by donating their properties to the Church.”

Adding to criticism of the prophecy, Father Jose Funes – who directs the Vatican Observatory – wrote in the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano that “it’s not even worth discussing” the predictions.

In his Dec. 12 piece titled, “The end that won’t come – at least for now,” he countered doomsday scenarios by stressing that the “Word of God reminds us that we are heading toward a fundamentally good future, despite the crises of every kind in which we are immersed.”

“That’s because we are assured that, in Christ, there is a future for humanity and for the universe,” the Jesuit priest added.

“In the depths of the human being is the fundamental belief that death cannot have the last word.”

Although Cosmology shows that the universe will – billions of years from now – go into “a final state of cold and darkness,” he noted, the Christian message “teaches us instead that in the final resurrection, the last day, God will reconstitute every man, woman and all the universe.”

 

Don’t Worry, the World Isn’t Actually Ending in 10 Days

So says a Vatican astronomer:

The Vatican’s top astronomer has some assurances to offer: The world won’t be ending in 10 days, despite predictions to the contrary.

The Rev. Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, wrote in Wednesday’s Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that “it’s not even worth discussing” doomsday scenarios based on the Mayan calendar that are flooding the Internet ahead of the purported Dec. 21 apocalypse.

Yes, Funes wrote, the universe is expanding and if some models are correct, will at one point “break away” — but not for billions of years. But he said Christians profoundly believe that “death can never have the last word.”

12/12/12

It’s the last alliteration date of the century!

Enjoy… and no… the world will not end, good people, at least not because of the predictions of fallen man.

Come to think of it, we’ll even have a 12 min,12 secs after 12 o’ clock on 12/12/12.

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

St Luke 21:28

 

When Christ Returns, He Will Reign in Jerusalem, and Missouri…

So says Mitt Romney- and the Mormon Church.

HT:  Dr Jim West

Doomsday Clock Ticks One Minute Closer to Annihilation

ABC:

Global uncertainty on how to deal with the threats of nuclear weapons and climate change have forced the ‘Doomsday clock’ one minute closer to midnight.

“It is now five minutes to midnight,” says Dr Allison Macfarlane, chair of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists , which created the Doomsday clock in 1947 as a barometer of how close the world is to an apocalyptic end.

The last decision by the group, which includes a host of Nobel Prize winning scientists, moved the clock a minute further away from midnight in 2010 on hopes of global nuclear cooperation and the election of President Barack Obama.

However, today’s decision pushes the clock back to the time where it was in 2007.

“It is clear that the change that appeared to be happening at the time is not happening, not materialising,” says co-chair Dr Lawrence Krauss.

“And faced today with the clear and present dangers of nuclear proliferation, climate change and the continued challenge to find new and sustainable and safe sources of energy, business as usual reigns the norm among world leaders.”

The clock reached its most perilous point in 1953, at two minutes to midnight, after the United States and the Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within nine months of one another.

It was a far-flung 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 after the two signed the long-stalled Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and announced further unilateral cuts in tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.

Increasing nuclear tensions, refusal to engage in global action on climate change, and a growing tendency to reject science when it comes to major world concerns, were cited as key reasons for the latest tick on the clock.

The nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant also highlighted the volatility of relying on nuclear power in areas prone to natural disasters, scientists said…

Read on here.

‘It is now five minutes to midnight’?! That from a clock that sometimes gets pushed back?  Hooey.

Allow me to present you with something far surer than any ‘Doomsday clock’:

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Matthew 24:36).

Or,

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).

Yes, that’s just right!

 

Speaking of End Times, Did Christ Wrongly Predict His Second Coming?

No, and here’s why:

In the comments on the previous post, I had to go after someone who made the old accusation that Saint Paul and the first century Church were gravely disappointed by the fact that Christ did not return in their lifetime, as Christ had promised.

 

Liberal scholars, beginning in the 17th century, but especially Germans in the 19th century began to promote the wrong belief that Christ was an eschatological and charismatic leader. Incorrectly, they claim that He was a pacifist, who nevertheless prophesied the judgment of God on Israel and Rome through His miraculous return. These heretics then say that the sudden crucifixion of Christ complicated this claim and so His followers had to scramble and create a new theology to justify His death. So then, these heretics claims that the disciples created the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, who then became a “cosmic Christ” who would come again to judge the living and the dead. The Jesus legend, they say, expanded to epic proportions.

 

The common teaching of this false modernist theology is the belief that Jesus was a “failed charismatic prophet,” and that early Christian theology is an attempted response to patch up the failure…

 

The following story is also behind the so-called “historical Jesus” movement…

The rest is by Taylor Marshall here.

If You Are Worried About the End of the Word Today…

Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today, it is already tomorrow in Australia” — Charles Schultz.