End of the World 2012

With people predicting that the world will end on Friday December 21 2012, I thought it might be worth looking a little more closely at the issue.

After all, if this prediction is correct, it may be of some importance to those not wishing to suffer a miserable fate like drowning, being swallowed by the earth, or dying like a miserable wretch on his hands and knees trying to eat grass while a bunch of light filled beings flounce about in loose fitting pastel colored clothes imploring the victims to focus on the positive.

Those of us over the age of 3 months old may recall hearing predictions like this before. And a swift check in the internet reveals that there have indeed been earlier predictions of catastrophes, especially focusing on the year 2000. How about we double check and see to what degree those predictions were accurate. Maybe this will give an indication of how seriously we should take predictions about 2012.

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Dennis Bossack predicted in 1986 that the world would be largely destroyed by nuclear war and “other tampering by man”.

The pink colored zones will be uninhabitable for 50,000 years, the yellow for 100 – 1000 years, while the white zones will be curiously spared. Residents of southern New Mexico will be relieved to see that their home will be one of the areas where new life will begin again, despite being surrounded by vast areas of what will look like a Martian landscape for the next 50,000 years. 

Interestingly, Bossack himself lives in southern New Mexico, so either he moved there on the strength of this prediction, or he lived there already and wanted to drive the real estate prices up.

Sadly Bossack didn’t include a date, so how about we look for something a bit more specific.

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Ashton Pitre had a bit more trust in his visionary powers and predicted that the US would be affected by some noteworthy changes between 1995 and 1999. Both coasts would disappear under the ocean and the Mississippi would become a massive body of water dividing the country in two.

A quick check on Google Earth suggests that these dramatic changes have not come about. Ashton also gave us a list of undated predictions which he openly acknowledges have not come about yet. The list is fascinating, but too long to reproduce here. Some of the most interesting predictions include:

The earth will be knocked out of its orbit, two thirds of the population will die and the survivors will be filled with radiant light and live for 2000 years. There will be two suns, one of which will be blue.

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In 1988 Aron Abramson predicted a far worse flooding on the west coast of the US than Pitre, but less on the east. The Mississippi still divides the land, but again, southern New Mexico is saved. I couldn’t find Abramson’s address, but my intuition tells me he may be living somewhere in southern New Mexico.

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Dolores Canon also predicted major flooding in the US. This map from 1991 shows exactly what is going to happen sometime soon. This is all according to Nostradamus, who seems to have been quite obsessed with events in the US around the late 20th century. Yet again we note that New Mexico will be saved.

This time both coasts of the US remain intact, but the rest of the country finishes up looking like a Holstein heifer. Note the vast inland sea in the middle of Mexico, and the way both Mexico and Canada have been completely parenthesized.

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Two years later, Gordon-Michael Scallion predicted some more interesting alterations to the map.

This time, Europe and Canada are obliterated, vast continents rise from the deepest oceans and Africa is flooded.  This map would make an attractive wall hanging, as well as proving a possibly life saving guide for your future travel plans.

The early 1990s were a fruitful time for maps of the Coming Earth Changes. Here’s another from Lori Toye.

While Toye agrees about continents rising out of the ocean, she disagrees where they will be. New Zealand, for example seems to have swelled to gigantic proportions, and several other continents appear out of nowhere.

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These predictions all tended to be a bit vague about the dates, and said nothing about the imminent and catastrophic pole shift, but that changed with the team from Planet X Prophesies.

By 2009 New Mexico was to acquire a nice new mountain range. Florida was to be on the Arctic Circle, but its residents wouldn’t know much about it because they’d have drowned (except those who bought this map and headed off for safe, spiritual New Mexico, which is again singled out to be saved).

Northern Europe, (see below) however was given a more unusual fate. Areas which other predictors saw being flooded or devastated by nuclear holocaust, were supposed to have been saved (apart from a few volcanoes and fissures opening up).

The North Pole would shift to west of Britain. Italy would be submerged by 2000, and southern Europe and Eurasia were to sink into the ocean last year. A few modest islands were to appear in their place, and more dramatically, the Alps would relocate themselves to the north. Again, Google Earth suggests these changes did not occur.

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A group calling themselves Gaia 2005 failed to make any maps, but  predicted  a seven year tribulation between 1998 and 2005. Along with earthquakes and floods and all that stuff, along with four days of complete darkness in the US.

When the heavens are fully opened and all signs have been fulfilled regarding the breaking of the Sixth seal, Jesus, the Christ will come on the clouds of heaven with power and glory.

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2005 was going to be a very good year. During the mid 1990s, George Schaffer also made many predictions for catastrophes to occur in 2005. Eerily, none of those seem to have come true either! Among the most interesting of them is this map.

In George’s vision, by 2005 the entire west coast was to be swamped with orange paint. This time, not even New Mexico was to be saved.

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This is of course merely a brief glimpse into this subject, but all in all, it seems to me that none of these predicted disasters have taken place. None of the above mentioned 2012 as being any way special.

 It should also be noted that other dates for the end of the world have previously been predicted, for example, 633 BC, 398 BC, 167 BC, 30 AD, 44 AD, 53 AD, 80, 93, 100, 130, 156, 195, 210, 247, 300, 365, 375, 380, 381, 387, 400, 410, 435, 470, 500 (twice), 590, 591, 750, 751, 793, 799, 800 (twice), 801, 806, 848, 900, 950 (four times), 964, 965, 968 (twice), 696, 970 (March 25), 979, 980, 983, 984, “between 987 & 991″, 989, 989 (August), “between 989 & 1000″, 990, 992, 992 (March 22), 994, 995, 996, 999, (several times), 999 (December 31), 1000 (January 1), 1000 (very many times), 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1009, 1010 (many times), 1011, 1012, 1014, 1018, 1022, 1024, 1025 (twice), 1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, 1032, 1033 (very many times), 1036, 1066, 1086, 1100, 1114, 1135, 1184, 1186, 1186 (September), 1213, 1254, 1260 (twice), 1265, 1284, 1290, 1297, 1300 (twice), 1306, 1307, 1310, 1335, 1345, 1346, 1347, 1348, 1349, 1350, 1360, 1365, 1366, 1367, 1370, 1375, 1378, 1381, 1387, 1400, 1415, 1417, 1418, 1420 (twice), 1450, 1476, 1490, 1496, 1499, 1500 (twice), 1516, 1520 (twice), 1524, 1524 (February 1), 1524 (February 20), 1525, 1526, 1527, 1528 (January 1), 1528 (February 20), 1528 (May 27), 1532, 1533, 1533 (October 3, 8am), 1533 (October 9, 8am), 1533 (October 19, 8am), 1534 (twice), 1535 (twice), 1537, 1544 (revised from 1537), 1544 (again), 1555, 1556 (July 26), 1572 (twice), 1583, 1583 (April 28), 1584, 1588 (twice), 1594, 1600 (several times), 1603, 1621, 1623, 1624 (revised from 1524), 1648, 1650, 1651, 1652, 1654, 1656 (twice), 1657, 1660, 1662, 1665, 1666 (very many times), 1673, 1680, 1686, 1688, 1689, 1694 (twice), 1697 (four times), 1700 (five times), 1701, 1704, 1715 (twice), 1716, 1719, 1719 (May 19), 1736, 1736 (October 13), 1749 (by Isaac Newton, revised to 2060), 1755, 1757, 1761 (April 5), 1774, 1785, 1789, 1792, 1794, 1795, 1799, 1800 (twice), 1801, 1801 (revised from 1537 and 1544), 1805, 1809, 1814 (revised from 1537, 1544 and 1801), 1814 (December 19), 1820, 1820 (October 14) 1832, 1836 (three times), 1840, 1843, “between March 21 1843 & March 21 1844″, 1843 (April 3) 1843 (July 7), 1844 (March 21), 1844 (October 22), 1847 (November 27), 1850, 1858, 1870, 1874 (twice), 1878, 1881 (twice), 1890, 1897 (October 5), 1900 (several times), 1901 (twice), 1906, 1908, 1910, 1910 (April), 1910 (May 18), 1914 (six times), 1918 (twice), 1919 (December 17), 1920, 1920 (February), 1921, 1925 (twice), 1925 (February 13, 12am), 1928 (May 29), 1934, 1935, 1936, 1936 (September 6), 1938 (Halloween), 1940 (several times), 1941, 1941 (revised from 1940), 1942 (revised from 1941), 1943 (revised from 1942), 1944, 1944 (revised from 1943), 1945, 1945 (revised from 1944), 1947, 1948, 1949 (February), 1953, 1953 (August), 1954, 1954 (May 24), 1954 (August 20), 1954 (December 20), 1957 (April 16-23), “between 1958 & 1998“, 1959 (April 22), 1960, 1960 (July 14 1.45am), 1962 (February 4), 1965-1966, 1967, 1967 (June), 1967 (Christmas), 1968, 1969 (November 22), 1970, “during the 1970s” (several times), 1972, 1973 (twice), 1974 (January), 1974-2028, 1975 (very many times), 1975-1979, 1976 (three times), 1977 (many times), 1978 (November 18), 1979 (twice), 1980 (four times), 1980 (December 31), “during the 1980s”, 1981 (revised from 1881), 1981 (May 25), 1982 (three times), 1982 (March 10), 1983, 1984 (last of ten attempts by Jehovah’s Witnesses), 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 (May), 1988 (October 11), 1988 (September), 1988 (many more times), 1989, 1990 (several times), 1991, 1991 (March 31 9am), 1991 (September 9), 1992 (October 28), 1993, 1994 (June 9), 1994 (September 6), 1994 (October 2), 1994 (November 23), 1994 (a few more times), 1995 (April 16), 1996, 1996 (August 24), 1996 (September), 1996 (October 23), 1996 (December 17), 1996 (several more times), 1997, 1997 (February/ March), 1997 (February 24), 1997 (March 25), 1997 (April 10), 1997 (May 14), 1997 (September), 1997 (October 20), 1997 (December 31), 1998 (February 26), 1998 (March 31) (twice), 1998 (April 30), 1998 (June 6), 1998 (July 5), 1998 (October), 1998 (many more times), “between 1999 & 2009″, 1999 (January), 1999 (July), 1999 (August 18), 1999 (August 6), 1999 (August 11) (twice), 1999 (September 30), 1999 (December 19), 1999 (very many more times), 2000 (very many times), “between 2000 & 2007″, “between 2000 & 2012″, 2000 (January 1) (many times), 2000 (January 11), 2000 (May 31), 2000 (September 21), 2000 (very very very many more times), 2001 (January 1), 2001 (January 31), 2001 (February 13), 2003 (after a warning received from aliens), 2003 (Spring), 2003 (May 5), 2003 (May 15), 2003 (October 30-November 29), 2003 (very many more times), 2004 (very many times), 2005 (very many times) 2006, 2006 (January 25), 2006 (February 13), 2006 (May 25), 2006 (June 6), 2006 (July), 2006 (August 8/9), 2006 (August 22), 2006 (September 12), 2006 (December 17), 2006 (no date, but 9am), 2006 (many more times), 2007, 2007 (March 26), 2007 (April 29), 2007 (September 12-13), 2007 (July, another warning from aliens), 2008 (March 21), 2008 (April 17), 2008 (April-May 31), 2008 (June 12), 2008 (September 10), 2009 (July), 2009 (September 21), and many more since then. Some might see a pattern emerging here, and I’m not going to spoil the party by already adding December 21 2012 to the list of failed predictions, because I know so many people would be disappointed. 

But even if the coming earth changes again don’t show up on schedule, our wise elders will predict another date for us to pin our hopes on, or at least argue that the changes were somehow on a spiritual level that could only be perceived by those who bought the book explaining it.

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NB: Anyone still concerned about this can check out what NASA has to say about it. Anyone interested in looking at how much spiritual “earth science” really has to do with the actual planet we are all standing on, have a look at this review of Gregg Braden’s book, Awakening to Zeropoint. Anyone who places their faith firmly in ancient Mayan wisdom might also want to consider what the Mayans themselves said:

Only two out of 15,000 registered Mayan texts mention the date 2012, according to the Institute, and no Mayan text predicts the end of the world.

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Update December 11 2012: astrophysicist Stuart Robbins has extensive coverage of this whole issue on his (excellent) blog, Exposing Pseudo-Astronomy.