Ignore the movie: 2012 will not be the end of world, say Mayans

London Telegraph ^ | 11/7/2009 | Philip Sherwell

[Saije]

The world is beset by a series of outlandish catastrophes in the much-hyped Sony Pictures movie. An earthquake-devastated Los Angeles slips into the sea, the Vatican collapses, its dome crushing worshippers and a tsunami dumps an aircraft carrier atop an exploding White House. Meanwhile a tidal wave sweeps across the Himalayas and a meteor shower strikes Earth.

The director Roland Emmerich - a veteran of catastrophe in his earlier films Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow - was inspired by theories that the calendar of the ancient Mayans foretells the end of civilisation on Dec 21, 2012.

"The famous Mayan prophecy inspired an excellent story," he said in a recent interview about what he calls the "mother of all disaster films".

But such a "prophecy" is news to the modern Maya in Guatemala and Mexico. Instead, they view the burgeoning end-of-the-world 2012 industry with a mixture of confusion, exasperation and anger at what is perceived as a Western distortion of their traditions and beliefs.

"There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederation of Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph.

Cirilo Perez, an adviser to Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom is a prominent ajq'ij - literally a "day counter", a wise man who makes predictions and advice on the most propitious dates to marry, plant or harvest. He decried the commercial exploitation of Mayan culture by outsiders.

"This has all become business but there is no desire to understand," he said. "When foreigners, or even some Guatemalans, see us, they think 'Look at the Maya, how nice, how pretty', but they don't understand us."

[Saije]

Uh oh, the Mayans are offended at this distortion of their beliefs. Do they fear a backlash?

[Perdogg]

I am offended how EON productions has distorted the Ian Fleming James Bond novels.

[txroadkill]

damn, maybe I shouldn't have cashed in my stocks and life insurance for that weekend in Vegas.

[uncitizen]

No they fear that nobody will book conventions or vacation in Cancun in 2012.

[Clemenza]

None of this changes the fact that they “great Mayans” now dominate the landscaping business in South Florida, and drunk driving arrests as well.

[Dallas59]

After watching some of the clips.....It looks like it’s a comedy.

[NoPrisoners]

"There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederation of Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph.

What??? You mean the Great Galactic Alignment will not have any effect on us? Hmmmm...

OTOH, we do have archeological evidence from the Toltecs and the Aztecs that they predicted this world would end with fire and a great earthquake. A good deal of *borrowing* occurred between the Toltecs, Mayans, and Aztecs, thus I cannot believe Mr. Gomez that the Maya did not have a concept of cataclysm.

Methinks Mr. Gomez and his pals want some controversial facetime.

[presently no screen name]

We know it will not be the end of the world. "World without end, Amen". However, the world will change as we know it - whether it's 2012 or not, it will happen and is already happening. No need for to look at 'someone's' calendar when It Is Written.

[FTJM]

Everything that I've read has said that the Mayans don't know what will happen when their calendar ends. Does it just start over? New Agers seem to think that the galactic alignment will have an effect, maybe a pole shift or vibrational shift.

The med of the world stuff has just captured people's imaginations. One thing is for sure, Obama's election made me think twice...

[PugetSoundSoldier]

damn, maybe I shouldn't have cashed in my stocks and life insurance for that weekend in Vegas.

No, that's NEVER a bad thing!

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Methinks Mr. Gomez and his pals want some controversial facetime.

Why not? If they complain a bit more I'm sure President Obama will apologize to them...

[BigCinBigD]

Still. just in case. I’m not doing my Christmas shopping till the 24th that year. I mean, why waste the money.

[presently no screen name]

a great earthquake. A good deal of *borrowing* occurred between the Toltecs, Mayans, and Aztecs

More like borrowing from the Bible. There will be a great earthquake when Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom here.

REVELATION 6TH Seal 8.12.17And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal,and lo there was a great earthquake,and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,and the moon became as blood,and the stars of heaven fell into the earth,even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind, and the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island where moved out of their places, And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains….hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said…Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb,,,for the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand.

REVELATION 7TH Bowl of Wrath 16.17.21 And the seventh angle poured out his bowl into the air…and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings,and there was a great earthquake ,such as was not seen since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and great Babylon came into remembrance before God, to give unto her her cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath,and every island fled away,and the mountains were not found.And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,every stone about the weight of a talent,and men blasphemed God because of the plaque of hail,for the plague thereof was exceedingly great.

[G8 Diplomat]

('Scuse the sloppiness...writing in Mayan with a mouse is hard)

[Jake from AZ]

Emmerich’s perfectly okay with offending the Mayans. It’s the Muslims the little wuss is worried about.

[NoPrisoners]

More like borrowing from the Bible. There will be a great earthquake when Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom here.

I was not dismissing those passages from the Bible, I simply think it interesting that the great civilizations of Central America all had similar ideas.

Hey, do I smell or something? Seems like someone's always taking me to task for my posts. :-]

[eclecticEel]

Or conversely, we could just admit that the Mayans were a backward, superstitious people that hadn’t the clue what they were talking about.

[Carbonsteel]

Not that I believe any of the 2012 nonsense, but this is not just the end of the Mayan calendar but the Aztec calendar, Cherokee calendar, the Sumerian calendar and the Jubilee calendar.

It is also the date the biblical calendar sets as the end of the 6th millennial day and the year that Tibetan monk prophecies focus on.

The prophecies of St. Malachi predicts 2012 to be the year of the end of age.

Ptolemy believed 2012 to be the dawn of the age of aquarius.

Jewish Sages say that 2012 to be the year of redemption.

The Bible Code supposedly sets 2012 for a year of major events.

Time Wave Zero, a computer program that plots high and low points in history goes off the scale in 2012.

Like I said, I don't believe in this stuff, but it should be very interesting.

[presently no screen name]

Hey, do I smell or something? Seems like someone's always taking me to task for my posts.

NADA!! It's a sweet aroma to The Lord! You know us freepers - 'know it alls' and always have to add or correct something. ;)

I learned something - the great civilizations of Central America all had similar ideas. So keep it coming and I promise I'll wear my student cap and not my teacher cap when reading your posts. ;)

[NoPrisoners]

I learned something - the great civilizations of Central America all had similar ideas. So keep it coming and I promise I'll wear my student cap and not my teacher cap when reading your posts. ;)

Ok, try this on for size. In one of my published works I discuss this issue in some depth.

The Mayan civilization was in its infancy around the time Christ was crucified, and my question has been this - did Jesus visit the Maya and other New World indigenous peoples during the 3 days before the Resurrection? Christ did speak of having sheep in other "folds".

I certainly can't verify my suspicion that He did this, but find it a little too coincidental that the Mayan calendar predicts a similar end to our world as is presented in Revelation. The thing I find so startling is that the Maya provide an actual date - 2012 - which will be close to a number of significant geopolitical events such as the end of a certain elected President's term in office and the proposed beginning of governmental healthcare.

Also bear in mind that there are legends and prophesies amongst our Native Americans about the "true white brother" who will return and save them from a global disaster yet to be visited on us.

There's a lot more we could discuss about this, but I think you get my drift.