Apocalypse Now?

The Mayan calendar comes to an end this month and dire predictions are raining down upon us. What did Jesus have to say about the end of the world?

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves" (Luke 21:25).

Jesus is speaking about the "Apocalypse" -- a Greek word which means a revelation or uncovering. Revealed and uncovered is the completion of God's work in the world, and the coming of the Son of Man.

So is the Apocalypse going to happen now?

Some people think so. A journalist named Lawrence Joseph has written Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End, a book which predicts widespread catastrophe beginning this month. He looks to the sky and sees "signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars," just as Jesus did. Specifically, he notices that on December 21 of this year, the sun will line up with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in roughly 26,000 years. Joseph says that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11...