What is the spiritual significance of this year that so many ancient cultures dreaded?
Maybe now is the right moment to examine all the theories and some of the shocking facts.
With all the hype about the ancient Mayan calendar suggesting the demise of human civilization taking place in 2012, one American author wants everyone to know that other calendars predict the same outcome, and he claims a demonic plot bringing about the end date could be hiding in plain sight inside the U.S. Capitol and your wallet right now.
It's finally here – 2012.
Tom Horn, a Bible-believing Christian and author of "Apollyon Rising 2012," says he never actually had an interest in the Mayan calendar, which comes to a cyclical end on Dec. 21, 2012. But then he became aware of numerous unrelated calendars and prophecies spanning many centuries, all predicting the end of the current human age at next year's winter solstice.
"I started finding that it wasn't just the Maya," Horn told WND, noting prognostications from Jewish mystics, as well as the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Cherokee Indians, and even artwork among famous American symbols that all point to the same time frame.
Despite not having telescopes, the Mayan people of Central America were extremely accurate observers of celestial movements, with the zenith of their civilization occurring between A.D. 250 and 900.
"The Maya understood this procession of the equinox, basically not to end, but to roll over, to start over" in December 2012, Horn explained.
He says their prophets coupled that date "with prophecies of unrest on Earth after which a new form of man appears on Earth, plus the return of their dragon god, a flying serpent who has the power of air."
"The Aztec saw the same thing, a flying serpent, Quetzalcoatl," Horn said, adding, "their calendar ends in 2012."
He says the Kali Yuga calendar of the Hindus forecasts global changes around 2012, and China's "Book of Changes," also known as the "I-Ching," predicts the end for the same year.
A timeline graph created in 1973 based on China's I-Ching, shows the line plunging entirely off the graph precisely on Dec. 21, 2012.
Horn says 38 years ago, when scientists Terrence and Dennis McKenna created a stock-market-like linear graph based on the "I-Ching," the timeline abruptly plunged off the graph into infinity on precisely Dec. 21, 2012.
Coincidence?
"This finding is all the more astonishing given that McKenna's research was published in 1973 independent of any knowledge of the ending date in the Mayan calendar," Horn noted.
Meanwhile, the Zohar, a collection of books in the mystical Jewish Kabbalah that first debuted in Spain in the 13th century, talks about the coming of the Messiah at the same general time the other calendars forecast the end.
It predicts in late 2012, "All the kings of the world will assemble in the great city of Rome, and the Holy One will shower on them fire and hail and meteoric stones until they are all destroyed, with the exception of those who will not yet have arrived there. These will commence anew to make other wars. From that time the Mashiach (Messiah) will begin to declare himself, and round him there will be gathered many nations and many hosts from the uttermost ends of the Earth."
Horn says, "Given the rejection of Jesus by orthodox Jews as Messiah, this coming could herald the coming of Antichrist in 2012."
Want to learn more? Tom Horn's "Apollyon Rising" is just one of many 2012 titles in the WND Superstore as we ring in the new year.
Here are some of the other books and DVDs you might want to check out – before it's too late!
- "2012: Is This the End?" – Since the beginning of the human race mankind has asked the question, when will it all end? From every corner of the Earth there are beliefs, prophecies, and legends, most of which point to the year 2012. Some of these stories point to a new beginning, others to the end of the world as we know it, and some to the annihilation of the world. "2012: Is This the End?" covers many, and there are many, of these prophecies, but more importantly it discusses what the Bible says about end-time events and what we should expect. The reader will find prediction of the Mayas, Incas, Aztecs, Chinese, Merlin, Mother Shipton, Nostradamus, and others to be intriguing.
- In "2012, the Bible, and the End of the World," bestselling prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock explores a fascinating last-days controversy that is gaining the attention of millions all over the globe. What should Christians make of the rapidly spreading speculations that the world will end on December 21, 2012? The ancient Mayans were expert astronomers and their advanced calendar cycles predict 12/21/2012 as a catastrophic day of apocalypse. This prophecy has spawned a growing number of fringe-element books and website. Missing in the furor is a biblical perspective.
- "Paradigm Shift: The Illuminati's Plan for 2012 and Beyond" – This DVD examines the cultural and spiritual expectations for 2012 and whether the world should really anticipate a chance known as a "Paradigm Shift" Dec. 21.
- "Flashpoint 2012" is a six-DVD collection of teachings by prophecy scholars on the meaning of 2012. Mark Hitchcock deftly challenges the misplaced focus on the Mayan calendar, while Jim Fletcher presents observations from Israel today and how they line up with Bible prophecy. Finally, Thomas Sharp ties it all together with his discussions of origins issues and the prophetic. Filmed at the first "Flashpoint 2012" conference, this DVD pack is a compelling and dynamic presentation of biblical truth in a topsy-turvy world.
- "Flashpoint 2012" also is a book companion to these DVD teachings. Or, better yet, buy the book and the DVD collection and save more.