Well we made it through another end of the world prediction when December 22, 2012 arrived. I think in this case the Mayan Calendar was misinterpreted. When trying to decipher something from the past any number of things can and do go wrong. Getting the exact message from symbols written thousands of years ago can be a bit tricky. Writers from that time period may have had something else in mind than what we translated it as.
Just how many end of the world predictions have come and gone since the beginning of time? It may have started with early man seeing a meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere and thinking it signaled the end. With so many end time predictions since that time I’m surprised, even amazed, that anyone takes them seriously. While the actual number may be beyond count, I believe they could be anywhere from the low hundreds and might go into the thousands. But the truth is that none have come true.
I’d like to comment on a few. I wonder how many end of the world predictions occurred in 999 then again in 1999. The problem I see here is that these dates are too neat and tidy with following years ending in zeros. I can’t see God being obligated to go by our time lines or schedules. Warren Miller had figured the world would end some time in the 1840’s with one date being April 18, 1844. When the sun came up on the next day some humble pie must have been eaten. I was part of a conversation in 1981 with a small number of Christians. They thought for sure that Christ was going to return by 1983 as they felt for sure things weren’t going to as that long. Since then several people, Harold Camping and Pat Robertson come to my mind, have tried to predict the end but the success rate still remains at 0%.
I guess it’s only human nature to try to figure these things out. One scripture that has been forgotten in all the research is Matthew 24:36. “But of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Ron Murdock