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2012 and the end of the world – what that may look like
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The Ancient Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21st 2012 causing some doomsday specialists to predict the end of the world. Research into this event shows that while there are some significant predictions by the Mayans about this date, the ending of the world may be a little over the top. For more about 2012 and Mayan prophecies, check out Mark Stone’s article and research HERE.
Cataclysmic events are the stuff of great science fiction stories and movies. We see trends come and go as we have a “near miss” with an asteroid or we have natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis. About a decade ago we had a pair of movies come out called Deep Impact and Armageddon that made everyone wonder when civilization might end due to a giant meteor hitting the earth. Since then we have had multiple natural disaster movies cause a stir. In fact, tonight on a major network is the conclusion of a TV movie called Meteor that tackles some of the same topics. While written with Hollywood story lines, and arguably entertaining, one has to wonder what facts these stories are based on, if any.
Natural disasters have been recorded throughout history including holy books in different cultures around the world. Some wonder how miraculous events like the Exodus or the Flood happened - leading to great debate as to the reality of these events ever occurring or perhaps just being metaphors for other life lessons.
Anthony E. Larson is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. This group is also known as the LDS Church or the Mormons. Larson has written a trilogy of books talking about some of the events that are told in the Bible, like the Exodus, and explaining how these events occurred. Larson researched the works of Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky and the theory of Catastrophism to paint an extremely interesting picture of what was going on during these world-changing events and how they can be explained through science. Larson uses the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon (“The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is an actual record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.” http://www.mormon.org) to describe events as these ancient people saw them and draw conclusions around these cataclysmic events.
The first book in Anthony E. Larson’s trilogy is called …And the Moon Shall Turn to Blood.... Larson introduces us to Dr. Velikovsky and his view of Catastrophism which is the belief that events in the Earth’s history have been shaped through catastrophes including planet/comets that have come dangerously close to the Earth’s atmosphere causing earthquakes, volcanic activity, and in the case of the Exodus, the tides to roll back. The plagues of Egypt are explained as a result of comet dust sprinkling down and contaminating water, causing locusts to migrate in large swarms etc. One of the most interesting discussions in the book is to explain why the Children of Israel after the parting of the Red Sea began worshiping a golden calf. Larson explains that Venus came as a comet/planet close to our atmosphere enabling the Red Sea to be parted. Venus’ atmosphere trailing behind the planet would have looked very similar to a bull with horns. They worshiped a calf as a result of Venus pulling the sea apart and then crashing down on the trailing Egyptians as it pulled away. Larson also discusses how Catastrophism explains why planets were considered gods and given personalities in Greek and Roman mythology.
Larson continues to discuss other destructive images from the Bible, the Book of Mormon and other ancient texts. They are all explained from the perspective of Catastrophism. This is an interesting take on events surrounding disasters through history, and events described in the book of Revelations that are prophesied to take place at the end of the world according to Christian belief.
…And the Moon Shall Turn to Blood… is a quick read of 133 pages including 3 Appendices. There is a definite LDS slant on the book as it quotes scriptures, and LDS leaders, but it is extremely thought-provoking and makes the reader think about how these events could have taken place. It makes one wonder if it’s just a matter of time before planets and our solar system are disrupted and calamity follows.
The other 2 books, …And the Earth Shall Reel to and Fro… and …And There Shall be a New Heaven and a New Earth… will be reviewed in future columns.
For information on the Mayan texts and calendar ending in 2012, click here.
For a better understanding on Catastrophism, read this article.
To order The Prophecy Trilogy by Anthony E. Larson, or learn about Mr. Larson, click here.
For more information on the LDS Church including basic doctrine, visit www.mormon.org.
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