Glacier Melting, the Mayan Calendar, and 2012

The following news item was late last night was of interest:

AP (From AOL) WASHINGTON (Dec. 11) – An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.

Greenland’s ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous high mark, and the volume of Arctic sea ice at summer’s end was half what it was just four years earlier, according to new NASA satellite data obtained by The Associated Press…

Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.

This week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: “At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions.”

So scientists in recent days have been asking themselves these questions: Was the record melt seen all over the Arctic in 2007 a blip amid relentless and steady warming? Or has everything sped up to a new climate cycle that goes beyond the worst case scenarios presented by computer models?
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Comments by COGwriter

Whether or not humans believe they are causing this current melting, the Bible shows that sea levels will rise to apparently cover the islands (Revelation 16:20) and that humans will be afflicted by great heat in the future (Revelation 16:9) (more information is in the article Islands and Bible Prophecy).

While I suspect that 2012 may be just a little too early for this to happen as the Bible first shows the rise of the final Babylonian Beast first (which while beginning to arise is not likely to both rise and fall prior to 2012), it may not be too many years afterwards.

Interestingly, December 21, 2012 is when the Maya’s “Long Count” calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era.

While most people believe nothing other than some astronomical occurrences will happen then (and the Mayans were apparently correct about that according to astronomers), some believe that the Mayan date may mark the end of civilization or perhaps the beginning of a time of great tribulation.

A few others seem to believe that December 22, 2012 may mark the beginning of a new and better era for humanity.

Personally, I suspect that the European King of the North may become more obvious around that time and in retrospect may even claim that he is bringing in the positive era that the Mayan calendar may indicate (for more information please see the article Mayan Calendar 2012–What is the value of this prophecy?).

However, the Bible shows that although people in many places will at first prosper because of this King of the North (Daniel 11:39; Revelation 18:3), that God will punish those who follow him or have his mark (666).

Several articles of related interest may include:

Islands and Bible Prophecy What’s ahead for islands? What does the Bible prophesy about them?
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11?
The Bible and the Arab World In History and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 3: China in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? Is it a “King of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: Prophecy Japan in prophecy. What is prophesied for Japan. Will God save the Japanese?
SDA/COG Differences: Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 The COG is NOT part of the Seventh-day Adventists. This article explains two prophetic differences, the trinity, differences in approaching doctrine, including Ellen White.