The World is Coming to an End December 21, 2012

With so much talk lately about the end of the world - the Mayan Calendar (which ends on December 21, 2012), the Nostradamus prophesies, the Edgar Cayce predictions, and the Bible Revelations - fear of Earth's demise, along with our impending deaths as a result of Armageddon, is causing people to shake with trepidation.

Recessions, tsunamis, the proliferation of evil, and unstable weather patterns all contribute to the popular belief that the world truly is coming to an end.

Because the Last Days have intrigued me for many years (long before I heard about December 21, 2012), I wanted to investigate December 21, 2012, and hopefully alleviate some fears associated with it. So a few months ago, I researched some of the allegations about the end of the world and wrote an article for Xomba entitled, December 21, 2012 - The End of the World As We Know It - Or Is It?

Over the years I have had numerous dreams about the end of the world. In most of them, I am, in a very literal sense, attempting to save the last survivors on Earth by bringing them into the light. In those dreams I try to prove to the survivors that miracles truly do happen, and I ask people not to lose faith.

In one dream, I stand beside a mountain with a group of people who are lost and confused. I ask them to have faith, tell them that things will be fine, and attempt to convince them that they have nothing to fear. But nobody believes me.

After a while, in exasperation, I blurt out, "What do I have to do to make you people believe? Do I have to fly?"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I ask God what I have done. In desperation I leave the group and walk to the other side of the mountain, pleading with God to show me the way. I feel I have made a promise to the people on the other side of the mountain and now I have to prove to them that, with God's help, I can actually fly.

So I bend my knees and attempt to push off, to push forward, to lift my feet from the ground. Every attempt fails. I am close to tears because I am letting everyone down, but I refuse to give up.

After several attempts, a little boy approaches me. "You're not doing it right, " he says. "You need to take a step forward first and lift off from there."

I take his advice and soon find myself flying over the mountain. The people on the other side of the mountain look to the skies and their spirits lift. My promise has been fulfilled. Their faith has been restored. I am flying.

Even today I wonder what it might take for people to believe in themselves, in each other, and in God (or in a Power or Spirit greater than themselves, by whatever name their faith calls that Holy Spirit).

And every once in a while, another piece of the mysterious puzzle of faith introduces itself to me. This morning I came upon a motto, which I found on the content page of Deborah Oakes, NPS, Featured Alternative Medicine Contributor at Associated Content.

The motto (which may have come from Alli Shafer, because I could not find the quote attributed to anyone other than Deborah or Alli) puts everything in perspective. Even if the world - as we know it - ends, the ending itself could result in a beautiful beginning. The motto?

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was about to end, it became a butterfly.