It doesn’t seem that long ago since the hype, hysteria and scaremongering of Y2K fizzled out. Prior to that, the Jehovah’s Witnesses concocted a variety of dates in the previous century when the Lord Jesus was supposed to return. Unsurprisingly, the Lord didn’t return on those dates since Jesus clearly taught that no man knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24.36).
December coming?
Nevertheless, when engaging in open-air evangelism, one question that keeps cropping up time and time again is ‘what about December 21 2012 when either the world will supposedly end or something major is going to happen?’ In response, I usually mention the above and ask them why 2012 should be any different? The reply typically involves the complexity of the Mayan calendar predictions and the completion of its cycle, plus the I Ching, ancient Egyptian beliefs and the prophesies of Nostradamus being in common agreement. The decisive presupposition seems to be that if several worldviews share similarities about 2012 being a highly significant event, then it cannot be a coincidence.
See that no one deceives you
In each of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus starts the Olivet discourse with the words: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you’ (Matthew 24.4, Mark 13.5, Luke 21.8). Luke 21.8 also includes, ‘The time has drawn near’, though commands, ‘Therefore do not go after them’.
