Thousands Worldwide Prepare for the Apocalypse, Expected in 2012
Two years ago, Patrick Geryl, then 51, quit his job as a laboratory worker for a French oil company. He'd saved up just enough money to last him until December 2012. After that, he thought, he wouldn't need it anyway.
...
That's because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Mayan cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions.
All this adds up, Geryl said, to unprecedented catastrophe. First, a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, Geryl said, and not even all of them.
These may sound like the ravings of a madman, or perhaps the head of a small apocalyptic sect. But Geryl is not the only one who believes in the apocalypse. Thousands of people worldwide seem to be preparing, in one way or another, for the end of days in 2012. Survival groups exist in Europe, Canada and the United States. A simple Google search for "2012" and "the end of the world" brings up nearly
300,000 hits. And the video-sharing Web site YouTube hosts more than 65,000
clips informing and warning viewers about their fate in 2012.
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I have said before and I will say again that no man will know the hour. Jesus told us this.
However, he also gave the disciples this parable in Luke 21:
"Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32"I tell you the truth, this generation[b] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
It is clear that we are entering the labor pains. We can't be sleeping; we must stay alert and vigilant.
1 Thessalonians 5
2 Thessalonians 2
Revelation 22
Frankly, it would not surprise me if we were in the midst of the Tribulation by 2012.
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Third Temple preparations begin with priestly garb
On Monday, the Temple Institute started preparing to build a Third Temple on
Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa mosque,
by inaugurating a workshop that manufactures priestly garments.
...
Priestly garments have not been worn since the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 CE and cannot be functional until a Third Temple is constructed.
Kohanim, priests directly descended from Moses's brother Aaron, are recognized by the Institute as such if their paternal grandfather observed the tradition. Today, they have special religious responsibilities; in days of yore they performed the most significant duties within the Temple.
Approximately one-third of the commandments in the Torah cannot be accomplished without a temple, including the obligations of the Kohanim.
But a Third Temple seems a flighty dream with nightmarish political implications to many, as both a shrine, the Dome of the Rock, and the Aksa mosque, Islam's third holiest structure, currently stand on the Temple Mount.
Antichrist will set up the 'abomination that causes desolation' at the midpoint of the seven year treaty with Israel. That can't happen unless there's a temple for it to stand in. The question is, how does the Dome of the Rock fit into this? Some believe that it is the abomination. I tend to think not. It is my suspiscion that God Himself will take care of it--perhaps it will be destroyed in an earthquake. Or, since He has a sense of humor, it might even be collateral damage in a muslim attack on the Holy City. Bwahaha! Still that is conjecture on my part. We shall see how that plays out.
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Magnitude 5.8 - TRINIDAD REGION, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO2008 July 03 06:34:55 UTC
Magnitude 5.0 - LAPTEV SEA2008 July 04 04:55:05 UTC
Magnitude 5.1 - NORTHEASTERN IRAN2008 July 03 23:10:03 UTC
Tremor hits Kadekan in northeast Iran for 2nd time in 2 days
Magnitude 2.0 - EASTERN TENNESSEE2008 July 05 05:14:57 UTC
Magnitude 2.7 - ARKANSAS2008 July 05 06:58:02 UTC
Magnitude 4.8 - EASTERN XIZANG-INDIA BORDER REGION2008 July 04 21:35:27 UTC
Magnitude 4.6 - XINJIANG-XIZANG BORDER REGION2008 July 05 01:39:27 UTC
Magnitude 4.7 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA2008 July 05 07:00:45 UTC
Three quakes hit, but no casualties reported
Magnitude 7.7 - SEA OF OKHOTSK2008 July 05 02:12:04 UTC
Magnitude 5.0 - SEA OF OKHOTSK2008 July 05 02:30:55 UTC
Major quake hits region of Okhotsk Sea
Magnitude 5.1 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN2008 July 05 07:49:03 UTC
Moderate earthquake jolts Japan
Magnitude 5.1 - RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA2008 July 05 12:56:15 UTC
Chile's Llaima Volcano Erupts
The Llaima volcano in southern Chile has erupted for the first time in months, forcing the evacuation of about a dozen people from nearby areas. Authorities, however, say populated areas are not immediately threatened.
Hundreds of thousands lose power in storms
Detroit, other parts of Michigan, are hit hard; Ohio also sees heavy rain
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Michigan, flooding streets and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of residents. Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. said about 162,000 of its customers had no electricity as of Thursday morning, and service in some rural and hard-hit areas was not expected to be restored until Saturday.
California Wildfires Strain State's Resources
Wildfires strain California's resources as focus shifts to blaze near Santa Barbara
A wildfire threatening hundreds of homes in Southern California spread slowly through scenic canyonlands Saturday, straining resources as crews struggled to contain hundreds of other blazes around the state.
"The firefighters are stretched thin, they are exhausted," and some have gone days without sleep, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited a command post in Santa Barbara County.
A slew of wildfires, most ignited by lightning two weeks ago, has burned more than 800 square miles of land throughout California. The blazes have destroyed at least 67 homes and other buildings and contributed to the death of a firefighter who suffered a heart attack while digging fire lines.
Crews Tackle Flurry Of Small Fires Around Colo.
DENVER -- Firefighters along the Front Range and on the West Slope have been dealing with a series of small wildfires fueled in part by Colorado's hot, dry weather.
Berthoud and Loveland firefighters contained a 50-acre wildfire near Carter Lake in Larimer County Friday. Authorities say a spark from a tractor started the blaze.
Evacuation order ends as Billings fire burns
BILLINGS (AP) — People forced from their homes by a wildfire on the edge of Billings have been allowed to return as crews continue fighting the blaze.
An evacuation order imposed Friday ended that night. The Billings Fire Department says the blaze mapped at about 1,100 acres has remained within lines dug on Friday.
Drip, drip... drought
By year's end, Israel's Water Authority warns, all pumping in Lake Kinneret will have to cease. That will mean turning off the taps on a third of the national water supply.
This dire scenario is the inevitable outcome of the fact that four successive years of scant rainfall have depleted Israel's largest above-ground reservoir to such an extent that this week it is expected to drop beneath the "bottom red line."
At this rate, moreover, the Kinneret's water level will, by October, have descended to what experts dub "the black line." At that point - when the Kinneret's surface falls to 215 meters below sea-level - irreversible damage from salination and toxic marine flora sets in.
Local shellfish return to menu
Red tide abates in many areas
Local clams are again being served on paper plates and bathed in butter because an expansive red tide has begun to abate, allowing officials to reopen some of the state's most productive shellfish beds.
The warming water has helped dissipate the bloom of single-celled algae that smothered the coast from central Maine to Cape Cod, infecting Boston Harbor for the first time in 36 years. In the last week, some 500 diggers have been able to return to Essex Bay and other bountiful flats on the North Shore, home to the renowned Ipswich clams. Officials yesterday also reopened beds in Plum Island Sound.
Training area for Olympic sailing event clear from algae invasion
QINGDAO, East China, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Training area for the athletes to compete in the Olympic sailing competition in August is now clear from the algae invasion in the host city of Qingdao.
...
Thousands of soldiers and volunteers are still cleaning the bright green weeds, which was first spotted at the end of May and started to bloom in mid-June. Inflatable barriers have also been placed near the coastline to prevent the algae from encroaching on the shore.
China works to keep cloud of locusts away from Beijing
BEIJING First there was the freak snowstorm in February. Then the Tibetan riots in March.Then in rapid succession the controversial torch relay, Sichuan earthquake, widespread flooding and an algae bloom that’s tarnishing the Olympic sailing venue. Just when it seemed that nothing else could go wrong this year in China, locusts have arrived.Locusts? What is going on here? The litany of near-biblical woes would only seem to lack a famine, a plague and smiting of the first born.
[Famine and plague are going on elsewhere in the world. I could argue that China's one-child policy is a plague on first-born girls.]
Australian state facing drought, locusts
SYDNEY, July 5 (UPI) -- The Australian state of New South Wales is facing both a major drought and a locust invasion that could devastate food supplies, an official says.
Primary Industries Minister Ian MacDonald said recent figures indicate drought conditions exist in 65 percent of the state, marking a 2.3 percent increase from June, The Sydney Morning Herald reported in its Sunday edition.
Macdonald said in addition to the ongoing drought, at least 900 properties in the state have been found to be housing locust eggs.
The minister said those eggs could create a major locust swarm that could threaten regional crops in the spring, the Herald reported.
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Are we getting the picture yet?
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'The Archers' brings the idea of a self-sufficient community to the fore
World shortages of petroleum and the belief that supplies will become too scarce are driving some to seek an oil-free lifestyle. As 'The Archers' brings to the fore the idea of a self-sufficient community, Rowena Mason asks whether this new movement is the product of panic or a common-sense solution.
The petrol pumps are dry, the supermarket shelves are bare and family cars sit uselessly in driveways. Faced with a national shortage of oil, the comfortable lifestyles of middle-class people are threatened by an austerity not seen since the post-war rationing of the early 1950s.
This is Britain in 2012, according to 54?year-old Richard Hathway and his wife Karen, who live in a family home in a sleepy Worcestershire village. They are convinced the country is heading for the worst oil crisis it has ever known, so this year they have decided to change their lifestyle for good.
Women Say Economy Factors in Abortions
Forty Percent of Minnesota Women Getting Abortions Cited Financial Concerns
There were 13,843 abortions performed in Minnesota in 2007. Of the women who listed a reason for their abortions, 40 percent cited economic concerns -- that's the largest share since the state started collecting detailed abortion information a decade ago, according to the state's annual abortion report.[98 out of 13843 is only 7 tenths of one percent.]
Women can list more than one reason for an abortion. The most common reason cited was that a woman did not want children at this time (10,190.) Other reasons included already being a single parent (1,024) and unfulfilled educational goals (886). Ninety-eight women cited rape or incest.
Oil Heads Past $145 for 1st Time; Pump Cost up Too
Oil surges to new highs above $145 a barrel; US pump prices at record near $4.10 a gallon
—Last Independence Day weekend, drivers were paying just $2.95 a gallon for gas, about $1.15 less than today.
—Oil prices are up more than 50 percent since the start of the year. Prices rose by a similar amount in 2007 — but it took almost the entire year for them to make that trip.
—Just this week alone, the price on a barrel of oil jumped 3.6 percent. And that was a shortened week.
Muslims in Britain should be able to live under sharia, says top judge
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his suggestion earlier this year that aspects of sharia should be adopted in Britain. The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls for his resignation.
Risking inflaming that controversy again, Lord Phillips has said that Muslims in Britain should be able to use sharia to decide financial and marital disputes.
About 200 Zimbabweans Seek Refuge at US Embassy in Harare
U.S. officials say about 200 people are seeking refuge outside the American Embassy in Zimbabwe. A State Department spokesman, Bill Strassberger, tells VOA the people came to the embassy after being forced out of the headquarters in
Harare of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. He says embassy staff are contacting humanitarian groups to see what can be done to help them.
POLICE say they have foiled plans for devastating bombings in Indonesia by uncovering an international terrorist cell, arresting 10 men and seizing more than 20 bombs in South Sumatra.
The team was making and stockpiling sophisticated explosives, reportedly for use against Western tourists or targets, police said. It was part of the network of Noordin Top, the mastermind of the Bali bombing.
The first arrest was that of a 35-year-old teacher six days ago, near the town of Palembang, police said.
We're on an express flight to Babylon, my dears. Hold tight.
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