UCG on 2012, Mayans, and Planet X

The latest edition of the United Church of God (UCG) publication The Good News arrived last night. Its cover article was on 2012. Here is some of what that article stated:

Why has Dec. 21, 2012, been selected by many as the day of catastrophe? It is due in large part to calculations on the calendars of the ancient Mayans…Where did the Mayan people receive the religious and cosmological conceptions related to their calendar? They certainly didn’t come from the God of the Bible. In fact, the Mayans practiced abominable religious rites that are strongly condemned in the Bible, such as human sacrifice…

The gods of pagan worship are not real, but the devil and his demons are behind much of false religion—sometimes posing as these false gods. The apostle Paul wrote that “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” (1 Corinthians:10:20; compare Leviticus:17:7; Deuteronomy:32:17; Psalm:106:35-38).

What do modern Mayans believe?

While many Westerners seize on Dec. 21, 2012, as a date of unparalleled disaster, modern Mayans generally do not see it that way…Benito Ramirez Mendota, offered this perspective: “As the elders said, everything is going to change. The world will be changed by that memorable date. Our children will have a different world view. The time will have passed and other beings will inhabit the universe” (p. 371). World peace and harmony will not come in 2012…

What about “Planet X”?

The most cataclysmic of prophesied end-time “natural” disasters is the scenario of a collision or near-miss of another planet with the earth. The mysterious orb that supposedly threatens us has been called “Planet X” or “Planet Nibiru,” and some expect it to arrive on Dec. 12, 2012.

But what is the evidence that this will occur? There is no scientific evidence that supports this idea. The idea came “not by radio signals from the cosmos, but [instead has supposedly been] channeled through medium and Zeto envoy Nancy Lieder, who was in contact with . . . altruistic aliens” (Govert Schilling, The Hunt for Planet X, 2009, p. 115)…

What should we expect?

Yes, Dec. 21, 2012, will come and go, Dec. 22 will arrive, and the earth will go on. And so will new theories regarding new exact dates for the end of the world. The cry has been shouted by strident voices for millennia, and you can be sure it will continue.

Sadly, many will take this non-event and other failed predictions as an excuse to dismiss what the Bible foretells is yet ahead.

UCG is essentially correct with what is shown above.

I would add that because the world will not end on December 21, 2012, that many who support New Age concepts will declare that they have been correct all along and that the Mayans really predicted that a new era, with people working toward peace, and that is really what the end of the Mayan long-count calendar meant. This will help deceive many and may be a partial fulfillment of Bible prophecy (cf. Ezekiel 13:8-22).

On the other end of the spectrum, it would seem that those who believe that the world will end in 2012 will point to various natural (and perhaps economic and other) disasters as proof that the world will end on December 21, 2012. But it will not. While we may be in the period that Jesus referred to as “the beginning of sorrows” He said that they, of themselves, were not the end (Matthew 24:6-8)–though troubling (Mark 13:8).

The Bible has laid out a variety of events that have to happen prior to the Great Tribulation and it is not possible that it could possibly begin as early as any date in 2012.

Those who really want to know what is expected to happen in the next several years may wish to consider studying by book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect. Which, amongst other things, has two semi-sequential charts of biblically-prophesied events that need to take place. They show events that must happen before the start of the Great Tribulation as well as a sequence leading to when the biblically-prophesied age of peace will actually come. And since the Bible is an accurate source of predictions, this explains why world events have already aligned with 16 predictions in the 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect book.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This link also has YouTube videos. This book documents and explains hundreds of prophecies. And since it was published, world events have aligned with at least 16 predictions in the book and many more will to come to pass.
2012 y el surgimiento de la secta secreta 2012 libro del Dr. Thiel en Español.
2012 und das Auftreten der geheimen Sekte (German Edition) 2012 Buch von Dr. Thiel in deutscher Sprache.
2012 e o Surgimento da Seita Secreta (Portuguese Edition) 2012 livro do Dr. Thiel em português. Este livro documenta e explica centenas de profecias. E desde que foi publicado pela primeira vez, pelo menos 16 já começaram a acontecer.
2012 e o Surgimento da Seita Secreta (Brazilian Portuguese Edition) 2012 livro do Dr. Thiel. Edição em português do Brasil. Este livro documenta e explica centenas de profecias. E desde que foi publicado pela primeira vez, pelo menos 16 já começaram a acontecer.
Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG/GCI members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.