BBC News:  Archaeologists in Guatemala have announced the discovery of a 1,300 year old text that makes reference to the last date of the Mayan calendar.  According to the Mayan calendar, 21 December 2012 will mark the end of an era. 

Commentary:  Last month, it was reported that archaeologists found the oldest known Mayan astronomical tables.  At the site in Guatemala, the earliest known Mayan art was found painted on the excavated walls of a dwelling.  It dates from the early 9th Century, predating other Mayan calendars by centuries.  The Mayan civilization occupied Central America from about 2000 BC until its decline in the 16th Century.

The east wall of the unearthed structure features paintings of seated figures, nearly life-sized, dressed in black and wearing elaborate headdresses similar to a bishop's miter.  They all look toward a north wall, on which a more elaborately dressed figure in orange holds a stylus in his hand outstretched toward a figure that appears to represent the king of Xultun.  Archaeologists believe the room was used as a writing room by Mayan scribes. 

The most intriguing find was related to astronomical tables, including four long numbers on the east wall which represent cycles lasting up to 2.5 million days.  The east wall is mostly covered by tabulations of black symbols that map out various astronomical cycles of Mars, Venus and the lunar eclipses.  The Xultun find is the first place that all of the cycles have been found tied mathematically together in one place, representing a calendar that stretches more than 7,000 years into the future.  The Maya numbering system for dates is a complex one in base-18 and base-20 numbers that, in modern day terms, would turn over at the end of 2012. 

The ancient Maya predicted the end of an "era" in 2012, not the end of the world, which is exactly what the Bible tells us.  The scripture in Matthew 24:3 has been misinterpreted to mean, "end of the world," when in fact, the original Greek translates "end of the age."  Other scriptural references point out that the world will never end, "Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.  Amen" Ephesians 3:21. 

The Word of God tells us that after Christ returns and defeats the enemies of Israel, an angel puts satan in the bottomless pit, and the Lord will rule and reign on earth for a thousand years: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection (of the saints), on whom the second death (hell) has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years" Revelation 20:6.  This era is often referred to as the "millennial reign."  The Bible tells us that after the thousand year period, satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit once more.  He, satan, will gather the nations that will follow him against Israel for the great and final battle of this world and they will surround Jerusalem (Revelation 20:9).  God will destroy those nations with fire and cast satan into the lake of fire, where the beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophet are.  Then, God will judge all of the dead and living according to their works (Revelation 20:13) and whoever is not found in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).  After this, the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven to replace our dwelling place on earth and we, who are saved, will dwell with the Lord forever (Revelation 22:3-4).  Your eternal destiny is at stake today, friends.  If you haven't received Jesus as your Savior, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this website.  There is no time to lose.  God bless you.