[HeadStrongBoy]

Family Stations, Inc and other copycat organizations are promoting May 21, 2011 as the day of the "Rapture." I am looking for additional resources on the internet that specifically address Bible verification of the above timeline of history. Opinion and the doctrines of particular denominations do NOT interest me at all. I would like to see a scholarly and impartial approach to the Bible. Particularly in regard to the topic of the day of jugdment.

[arcura]

HeadStrongBoy,
I think you have asked a very difficult to answer question except for those who believe in biblical numerology.
I am one of the many who believe that biblical numerology balderdash.
But I am interested is seeing any answers that you may get.
As far as the rapture taking place on the date you mentioned is concerned I'm sure that the day will come and go just as the very many such past predictions have.
Good luck.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

[ebaines]

From a fairly quick Google search it seems that basically all sites spouting this are related to FamilyRadio.com and EmbeddedWorks.com. I don't think you'll find anything from traditional main-line denominations about this. Their timeline of history seems to be unique - placing the creation at around 13,000 years ago and Noah's flood at precisely 4,990 BC.

[arcura]

ebaines,
Thanks for that information.
Fred

[Maggie 3]

I would not believe anyone who says when the world will end. Look up in your bible Matt. 24:35, 36 and you will read no one knows when this will happen except the Father.
One of the big things going around today about the end of the world is the date dec 21, 2012. This is when the mayan calendar runs out.
This is contrary to the word of the Lord and what is written in the bible.
The main thing to be concerned about is our relationship with God and where we stand with Him. The end could be in the next 5 minutes . We are not promised any length of time in this life. Make sure you are right with God now by accepting Jesus as your savior. This way you will be ready to meet Him when he comes. Be concerned about your relationship with Jesus and not worry about predictions that people make.

Maggie 3

[ebaines]

One of the big things going around today about the end of the world is the date dec 21, 2012. This is when the mayan calendar runs out.

Actually, the idea that the Mayan calendar "runs out" is incorrect, despite the popular misunderstanding. The Mayans weren't that dumb. But in today's society where "end of the world" myths are hugely popular this sort of mis-information gains traction, and so now even main-stream media talks about the "end" of the Mayan calendar being in 2012.

[TUT317]

Actually, the idea that the Mayan calendar "runs out" is incorrect, despite the popular misunderstanding. The Mayans weren't that dumb. But in today's society where "end of the world" myths are hugely popular this sort of mis-information gains traction, and so now even main-stream media talks about the "end" of the Mayan calendar being in 2012.

Hi ebaines,

Is there an explanation as to how this misunderstanding managed to come about?

[ebaines]

There was an excellent article about this in "Sky and Telescope" a couple of months back, coincident with the release of the movie "2012." See: SkyandTelescope.com - Press Releases - The Great 2012 Scare — and What You Need To Know In a nutshell - it talks about how some guy back in the 1980's first put this idea forward, and since then there have been several more that have built on the idea and thrown in additional misinformation about planetary alignments and the sun "eclipsing" the center of the galaxy (all of which is incorrect). The article describes in detail how the Mayan calendar actually worked. In essence it used 394 year cycles, and it's one of those cycles that ends in 2012. That will be the 13th in the series of cycles. Some people claim that the Mayan calendar "ends" with this 13th cycle, but there's scant evidence for that. In fact, there are versions of Mayan calendars in carvings that go well past the 13th cycles, and allusions in Mayan lore about events that will occur in the year 4772. So it doesn't seem at all like the Mayans "predicted" anything about the end of times. So why does this stuff grab the public's imagination? Who knows. We've had plenty of doomsday predictions in the past (there was a popular book in the 80's called "Doomsday 1999"), yet people keep coming up with this stuff.

[arcura]

Maggie 3,
That was very good advice.
Thanks.
Fred