IS 2012 the start of the end of the days?

Doomsday prophecies have been a topic of debate for centuries, and they will probably be the most talked about subject for generations to come. I say probably because we have yet to see whether the Mayans prediction on doomsday actually materialises…. Will we live through to the year 2013? The Mayans have predicted that the world will end on Friday, December 21, 2012.

Apart from the Mayans who were an intelligent astronomical civilization, others, too, believe that our world is coming to an end. In fact Apocalypse, Armageddon, The Second Coming, Revelations, The Rapture, Qiyamah, Kali Yuga, Maitreya and Acharit Himayim are all religious doomsday prophecies.

So, how will the world end, and what are the signs that our end is right round the corner? The Mayans believe that a massive red comet will hit the planet, which will destroy us in a matter of just minutes. The Quran talks of a final battle with the Jews, and it contains a version of the ‘Gog and Magog’ war from the Bible with several differences. Judaism, too, believes in something very similar. In fact, all these three religions talk of a final battle of beliefs.

Hinduism, on the other hand, operates with a cyclical view of humanity. It is believed that the highest stage of humanity, one of virtue and harmony, gradually gives way to successively degenerative stages, the last of which is the Kali Yuga, an Age of Darkness where wickedness rules. During the Kali Yuga, an apocalyptic figure, Kalki, emerges to destroy the wicked and save the virtuous, and by doing so restores humanity to its most virtuous stage again.

Aren’t wars a form of wickedness? Isn’t killing each other in the name of God wicked? Does this mean the growing tensions between the Jews and the Muslims could lead to Armageddon? Could the growing tensions between the Arab world and Israel be a sign that things could go very wrong and we might never get to see beyond the year 2012?

Just like the Bible’s prophecy about the restoration of the state of Jerusalem came true, will its Armageddon prophecy come true also? Will the world join forces for a final battle with the state of Jerusalem?

If war means the end of humankind, why on earth are we fighting? After all, war is destruction, isn’t it? Do we really need a comet to destroy our planet? Don’t we already have enough lethal weapons to do the job?

Was the future of humankind decided centuries ago? Is this the end? Is there absolutely nothing we can do to change our fate? Are we doomed for ever? Are we merely characters of a tragic play? Will we live through to see the year 2013?

Don’t all these questions really mean that we better start living our lives to the fullest and forget about our worries and our strife, because we really don’t know what tomorrow holds? Like Ralph Waldo said, "One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday."