Apocalypse Apocalypse – Are you ready for december 2012 ?

It is not a modern obsession, the fear of a cataclysmic “end of days”. For millennia, prophecies of a global apocalypse, provoked either by human indiscretion or divine ordinance, have poisoned rational minds and impaired social progression. Initial declarations of such catastrophic events are dated as far back as 2800 B.C., the era that produced an Assyrian clay tablet, upon which were etched the words: “Our Earth is degenerate…and the end of the world is evidently approaching.”
Plagued by civil disorder and foreign enemies, the great civilization of Rome that soon thereafter flourished echoed such sentiments, prophesying similar “end of world” scenarios for two separate occasions, whose dates of 634 B.C. and 389 B.C. were ostensibly foretold by Romulus, one of Rome’s patron founders.
Following the 1st century, whisperings of apocalyptic demise were exacerbated through the rise of Christianity and the foretelling of rapture by its highest prophet, Jesus Christ. His promise of a Second Coming became the canon after which subsequent threats of catastrophe and mayhem were formulated. Before the year 1,000 C.E., countless failed predictions wove the fabric of paranoia and dread: early Christian Montanists raved of Jesus’ return throughout the 2nd century while individuals such as St. Martin of Tours, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Hippolytus assumed the decades thereafter to bear witness to the birth of the antichrist, consequently ushering forth the end of the world.
With the genesis of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, the date of momentous ruin became dependent on far more particular elements, such as planetary alignments and the underlying mathematical meanings of biblical text. John of Toledo calculated September 23, 1186 as the end of existence due to specific solar phenomena, while Pope Innocent III echoed the same expectations one hundred years later, yet based upon the statistical significance of the number 666. Throughout this period, the hardships endured by pestilence, famine, and incessant warfare only strengthened the belief of an oncoming apocalypse.
The few short centuries prior to the modern age again re-invented the perceptions of rapture and downfall. The progression of knowledge and the innovative presence of technology diminished the need of religious based explication, and assumed dates of destruction were instead focused on astrological events, natural disasters, or disease. Certainly, Christian sects such as the Millerites, Puritans, and Second Adventitsts continued purporting the return of Christ, yet the majority insisted on placing their faith on provable certainties of apocalypse, such as earthquakes, floods, and wars.
Today, the threats of an ultimate “end of world” plot are prevailing with the rapid approach of 2012. The menace of nuclear holocaust, incurable disease, religious fanaticism, and ancient prophecy has laid the foundation upon which the building blocks of paranoia have been constructed. And so will it also continue until another foretold date passes, and new imaginings directed towards casting the world into metal anguish and undeniable doom are once more purported.