Israeli archaeologists find rare ancient jewelry

By DANIELA BERRETTA, Associated Press

In this photo taken Wednesday, May 23, 2012 an ancient jewel discovered by Israeli archaeologists is displayed at the Tel Aviv University, Israel. Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a stash of rare ancient jewelry near the site of the biblical Armageddon in the north of the country. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University, who co-directed the dig, said this week that the find offers a rare glimpse into ancient Canaanite high society. The 3,000-year-old jewelry was found inside a ceramic vessel, suggesting the owner hid them before fleeing, he said. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty) — AP

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli archaeologists have discovered a rare trove of 3,000-year-old jewelry, including a ring and earrings, hidden in a ceramic jug near the ancient city of Megiddo, where the New Testament predicts the final battle of Armageddon.

When Prophecies Fail (even in 2012) by Elwin R. Roach

"Charity never ⁽¹⁾ faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall ⁽²⁾fail..." 1 Corinthians 13:8 " (even in 2012).

Many people are in quite a stir these days. Calamities have been streaming through the nations that have left them more than a little unsettled. There have been earthquakes, a tsunami that caused thousands of deaths and three uncontrollable nuclear reactor melt downs, political upheavals and corruption everywhere, economic woes, nations going bankrupt, and immorality running rampant in all walks of life. Moreover, many believe that the catalyst for an imminent, worldwide meltdown has to do with the Mayan calendar that ends on this year's winter solstice December 21, 2012. There have been an unprecedented amount of prophecies, fearful predictions, and speculations concerning this upcoming date.

According to credible researchers, it is said that the Mayans studied the heavens extensively and were very interested in world ages. But they also say that the record has been distorted, leaving several possibilities open to interpretation. In the Maya Long Count calendar, the one causing so much consternation and debate, the previous world ended after 13 b'ak'tuns, or roughly 5,125 years. This means that the fourth world, or age, will also have reached the end of its 13th b'ak'tun, on December 21, 2012. In 1957, Mayanist and astronomer, Maud Worcester Makemson, wrote that "the completion of a Great Period of 13 b'ak'tuns would have been of the utmost significance to the Maya." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_phenomenon.)

2012 Mayan Prophecy A Response to the 2012 Mayan Prophecy Theory

Grant R. Jeffrey Bestselling WaterBrook Press author of Shadow Government A film entitled 2012 is being released this November with a top Hollywood cast that explores the idea of a global doomsday event that many New Age followers and a few Christians believe will occur at the time of the northern hemisphere's winter solstice on December 21, 2012. This date coincides with the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar's current cycle which only extended until 2012. The Mayan Empire developed in Central America and flourished from 250 AD to 900 AD gradually declining until the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century fully destroyed it. The Mayans developed a complex calendar utilizing cycles of 52 years including a remarkably accurate solar year of precisely 365.242 days which was more precise than the western world's calendar until a century ago when it was determined that the solar year consisted of precisely 365.2425 days. While such disaster movies such as 2012 with their awesome computer generated special effects are often fun to watch, the reality is that there is no real evidence that indicates, let alone proves, that the Mayan calendar's final date which concludes with 2012 had any prophetic importance or meaning whatsoever for either the Mayans or ourselves. Furthermore, there is not the slightest evidence among the thousands of prophecies found in the Bible that mentions the Mayan people, their long deceased Central American empire, their territory or any connection to a future global catastrophe in 2012. The Mayan Long Count calendar is the basis for the popular New Age belief, originally suggested by Jose Arguelles (a founder of the Earth Day concept) in his 2002 book Time and the Technosphere, that a global catastrophe will occur on or near December 21, 2012, the time of the Winter Equinox. It is important to remember that his 2012 theory is unsupported by any professional Maya scholar. Serious academic Maya scholars consider this 2012 theory a major misinterpretation and to be without any scientific foundation. An astronomer, Dr. Philip Plait, declared that the Mayan calendar does not actually end in 2012. Rather, Dr. Plait stated that we should consider it in the same way that the odometer on your car's dashboard rolls over, after reaching 100,000 miles. When each section of the odometer reaches 9 and then clicks over to 0, the following number to it starts a new cycle. The executive director of the Mesoamerican research organization FAMSI, Dr. Sandra Noble, has written that for "the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle". However, Dr. Noble declared that the New Age prediction of December 21, 2012 as a global doomsday or a cosmic-shifting Armageddon to be "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." The most probable interpretation is that the Calendar cycle ending in 2012 was never intended to predict a global collapse or the "end of the world" in 2012, but, rather, to simply indicate the end of one calendar cycle and the beginning of a new cycle that would simply carry on into the future. There is no evidence in the Maya language or engravings to indicate that they foresaw a global catastrophe in 2012. Christians who place their trust in the Word of God and His promises should remember the words of Matthew 24:36: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." raptureforums.com

When Prophecies Fail (even in 2012) by Elwin R. Roach

"Charity never ⁽¹⁾ faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall ⁽²⁾fail..." 1 Corinthians 13:8 " (even in 2012).

Many people are in quite a stir these days. Calamities have been streaming through the nations that have left them more than a little unsettled. There have been earthquakes, a tsunami that caused thousands of deaths and three uncontrollable nuclear reactor melt downs, political upheavals and corruption everywhere, economic woes, nations going bankrupt, and immorality running rampant in all walks of life. Moreover, many believe that the catalyst for an imminent, worldwide meltdown has to do with the Mayan calendar that ends on this year's winter solstice December 21, 2012. There have been an unprecedented amount of prophecies, fearful predictions, and speculations concerning this upcoming date.