End of the Fourth World - 2012

I was talking to a friend last night and somehow we started talking about the ancient Mayan calendar.  It was more like my friend was talking and I was listening because I never learned all that much about South or Central America when I was in school. He was saying that according to the ancient Mayans, there have been 4 worlds and the first 3 were botched.  The fourth was successful and this one mankind was placed in.  Apparently, this Fourth World will end in fiery catastrophe in Decmeber of 2012.

I typically don't put much stock, if any, in myths or legends - other than to try to understand any "meta-message" or symbolic message they impart.

Just wondered if anyone on here is familiar with the Mayan history and/or mythology and if so, can you recommend any books about it?  This wiki article is sort of confusing to me, but the whole thing sounds fascinating.

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Update for Jan. 2009:

Now we're just under 4 years away from 12-21-12

We had/have

Devastating earthquakes.
Record-breaking tsunamis.
Category 5 hurricanes.
Spiking global temperatures.
Earthquake swarm at Yellowstone.
Giant breach in Earth's magnetic field.
The next solar storm cycle is at a minimum and is expected to peak during 2012.
The Doomsday Clock has us 5 minutes from midnight

However,

My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows
that's how this refrain goes.
So come on Join In. Everybody.
Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows
everything thats wonderful is sure to come your way

 

not familar. heres books.

return of quetzalcoatl

maya cosmogenesis 2012

You might also be interested in Fingerprint of the Gods by Graham Hancock.  I don't subscribe to his theories but it is interesting and informative reading - if you don't mind sifting through speculation and the author's conclusions.

thanks guys! :D

all of those look great!  will see if i can find them used...

fingerprint of the gods was the one my friend was talking about - I think it will be interesting reading, if for no other reason than that I know so little about that culture

This is so interesting...good post nomo...

My wife said something about the Mayan thing just last weekend but who is going to sing "I'm gonna party like it's twenty twelve"?

:) 

::chuckles::

good point, mfchill...  there's always at least one sticky point in every end of the world theory  :D

and actually, now that I think about it - not much rhymes with twelve...  delve

yes, we're going to party like is two--ooo-oh-one-two...     ;

*jams on air guitar*

?

Yeah, Mormons believe that, too; atleast this one reconstructionist mormon I'm friends with does. And a lot of pentacostals say they don't know the exact date of the end, but they suspect 2012 because of the Mayan prophecy.

What's interesting about the mormon philosophy is that the book of mormon actually tells what was going on on this side of the world during Christ's time, and the Mayans are a large part of the text. That's partly why the 2012 thing is given creedence by them. They beleive a lot of the Mayan prophecies tie to Christ; I think the mormons beleive that the Mayans evolved from the other group of people who fled Babel before speech got mixed up, or something?

The whole thing is interesting.

Y'all think I can make it to my goal weight by 2012??

Who's with me???

Define the end of the world?
I have heard this many times.  Some think the end of everything living, total distruction.  Other think it will be the begining of enlightment, a new sense of the world where we are more here.  Finally focusing on what really matters.
Since I can remember the world has suppose to ended at least ten times.  I have actually had an end of the world party once when I was a lot younger.

Woah, sometimes I think this world is really botched. I would hate to see the first three!!!

Chances are good Shakti.

You know, if my Gods made that many mistakes...That's all I'm saying.

I never did get a copy of the books recommended above.

I just requested a copy of Apocolypse 2012: a Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End from the library.  The person who has it out has had it overdue for months!  darnitall.

Original Post by shakti:

Yeah, Mormons believe that, too; atleast this one reconstructionist mormon I'm friends with does.

What's interesting about the mormon philosophy is that the book of mormon actually tells what was going on on this side of the world during Christ's time, and the Mayans are a large part of the text. That's partly why the 2012 thing is given creedence by them. They beleive a lot of the Mayan prophecies tie to Christ; I think the mormons beleive that the Mayans evolved from the other group of people who fled Babel before speech got mixed up, or something?

As a Mormon myself, I can say for certainty that this is mostly incorrect.  Mormons do not think that they know the time that the world will end or the Second Coming of Christ, for that matter.  2012 is given no "creedence" by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In terms of the Book of Mormon, it is true that we hold it to be a history of certain peoples on the American continents (one being from the time of Babel), but the Mayans are not specifically mentioned and no one really knows for sure how the Mayans are related to the peoples mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

That said, there may be individual Mormons, as you have mentioned, that wish or believe there to be a tie between these Mayan "prophecies" and Christ (hey, we aren't automatons), but the Church does not recognize any such tie.  Therefore, it is absolutely incorrect to say that Mormons, as a religion, adhere to such beliefs.

Nobody knows how the Mayans might have been related to people who fled Babel because the governing Spaniard of the Yucatan peninsula burned all but a handful of the discovered Mayan texts.

*shakes fist at Spanish colonial governor*

So you think 2012 will just see a lot people hoard bottled water, canned milk, tuna and batteries then?

And on 12-22-12 you'll walk around pointing at them, doubled over with laughter? 

Actually it is more probable that we'll forget there's even an issue in this country and the descendants of the Mayans will be the ones doubled over with laughter.

i think that we'll probably see more hysterical behavior with 2012 than we did with 2000

mainly because, the people who predicted 2012 predicted it around 500 b.c.e. and it has to do with some kind of galactic alignment which they correctly forecast that only happens every 26,000 years or something (rather than just being an even numbered, misunderstood millennium year that was more of a computer programming issue than any other significance)

but who knows....

If it's the end of the world - what do you need supplies for?

Just askin'.  :)

i don't know, other me  :)

but apparently, there are "families trying to survive 2012"

I guess it depends on what kind of 'End of the World' it will be:

Total apocalyptic annihilation event = if anyone does live through 'it' they will only live for a short while afterward

Flu or other disease pandemic = as many as 5-10% of people could survive naturally, even if it were an ebola (highest rate of death and highly contagious) epidemic

 

There was a fascinating Discovery Channel episode(s) I saw on the Mayan predictions this summer. It went into detail about their whole calendar and how accurate they were with their time and astrological predictions. Fascinating. You might be able to download the episodes. Or there might be more information available on their website.

I will take a look at that.  I think this past week was Apocalypse Week on the History Channel, but I missed out on it. 

I think the precision and accuracy of the Mayans' astronomical calculations are what make (some) people take them more seriously than we'd take for instance, the bearded fellow who drives that yellow truck around downtown with the giant homemade wooden sign on that says "The End is Near" and then in tiny print says a bunch of other stuff that you can't read from a distance.

At least there's a good reason to get in better shape. You know, in case I have to outrun a giant tidal wave or something. :)