Mayan Prophecy? si-mi?

 

 

Question: “What is the year 2012 Mayan prophecy?”

Answer: The ancient Mayans, based on star charting, prophesied that December 21, 2012 would be the end of the world (or at least some form of universal catastrophe). Meso-American star charting started around 680 B.C. by the Olmec civilization who were recording astrological patterns in the sky and eventually shared this information with the Mayans. The Mayans had a long history of tracking the winter solstice (probably for planting crops) and creating calendars (at least 17 that we know of). At some point, they developed the belief that our sun is a god and that the Milky Way, called the “Sacred Tree,” was a gateway to the afterlife. After learning from the Olmecs, they began keeping records of the stars’ patterns of movement and continued to do so for the next 200-300 years. The Mayans then developed their own calendar (The Long Count) ca. 355 B.C. They were able to use their observations and mathematical prowess to calculate the future movements of stars across the sky. The result was that the Mayans discovered the effect of the earth’s wobbling as it spins on its axis. This wobbling rotation causes the stars’ patterns of movement to drift gradually in the sky (called “precession”) in a 5,125-year cycle. The Mayans also discovered that once every cycle the dark band at the center of the Milky Way (called the Galactic Equator) intersects with the Elliptical (the plane of the sun’s movement across the sky).

During that year, the sun reaches its solstice (a brief moment when the sun’s position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer) on December 21 for the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 for the Southern Hemisphere. That year, the solstice occurs at the moment of the conjunction of the Galactic Equator with the Milky Way. The year this occurs (in relation to our Gregorian calendar) is A.D. 2012, and happened last on August 11, 3114 B.C. With Mayan mythology teaching that our sun is a god and the Milky Way is the gateway to life and death, the Mayans concluded that …

tying the yellow ribbon

as i lamented about how i had missed an opportunity last week, i took time to reflect why it was that i was able to miss it. why was i not sensitive? was i not able to see the need? how can i become more sensitive? these questions were running through my mind day after day, as i encountered more and more scenes of helplessness, poverty, and need…

and so i told God that i would resolve to be His ambassador – and a good one, at that!

yesterday, God put me to the test. what a surprise situation, i tell ya!

i was having coffee with a friend near a crowded mrt station, and just as we were engaging in deep and serious conversation, we were approached by a normal-looking Indian man who wore a name tag and carried many small teddy bear key chains.  he explained that he is an ex-convict and earns a 50% commission from selling these key chains at $10 each. there was no other way he could support himself if not for the company who took him in and gave him a job.

even though i strongly felt that charging $10 for a small little teddy bear which had no particular use to me was like daylight robbery, i nevertheless reached for my wallet to give him the red note. The supernatural significance of helping this man far outweighed any material sacrifice on my part :) this man was clearly grateful for the purchase, and after saying his thanks, he turned to walk away.

this was the moment.

my heart started beating faster and i knew that if i lost this moment, i lost him forever.  and so i called to him to stay awhile so we could pray for him (obviously, i caught my coffee buddy by surprise.. but who cares).  what was about to follow, then, completely took us by surprise…

missed opportunity

we’re into the 3rd week of the month of blessing campaign now, but the number of people i have blessed is mediocre. i attribute it to the lack of courage and the lack of genuine opportunities (not those that fly past so quickly it isn’t much of an interaction anyway).

BUT. as much as i ‘complain’, i gave up a great opportunity last night :(

i was heading home via mrt when a guy stopped me in my tracks and asked if i was in a hurry. before i could answer, he said “please say yes, because we are in a hurry too.” i figured he was some kind of salesperson/ insurance fella or smthg like that, and immediately my defences went up…

DPM Wong on the Aware saga

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng replies to queries from the Straits Times on the Aware saga…

here’s a brief:

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is the issue behind the issue of the leadership takeover at Aware. The new exco members, mentored by veteran lawyer and lay church leader Thio Su Mien, justified their actions by arguing that Aware had veered towards the promotion of a gay and lesbian agenda in recent years. They argued that, like in the United States, there is now in Singapore a ‘political homosexual agenda’ that aims to push not only for decriminalisation of homosexuality, but also for same sex marriage. This last, they argued, would destroy the meaning of the family, and ultimately Singapore’s social fabric.

What is the Government’s stand on homosexuality? Has it changed? What is the Government’s assessment of where the majority of Singaporeans stand on this? What grounds does the Government have for this assessment?

The Government’s position on this issue is clear. It was stated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on October 2007, and it has not changed. In his speech, PM Lee said that Singapore is basically a conservative society and the conventional family, a heterosexual stable family, is the norm and the building block of our society. However, we recognise that homosexuals are part of our society.

They have a place in our society and are entitled to their private lives. This is the way the majority of Singaporeans want it to be – a stable society with traditional, heterosexual family values but with space for homosexuals to live their private lives and contribute to society.

The Government was not going to be pressured into changing its position on homosexuality before the takeover of Aware. Nor does the Government intend to change its position now that the old guard has recaptured Aware.

Pushing boundaries

What is the Government’s stand on homosexuals trying to push their cause publicly? What are the dos and don’ts for them?

The debate on Sec 377A of the Penal Code showed how the homosexuality issue polarised our society. Advocates on both sides were passionate and vocal. In the recent Aware tussle, homosexuality was clearly a major issue to both sides. This is unproductive and divisive.

Our society will not reach consensus…

Aware aftermath

here is someone who has taken courage to stand up and voice her views; someone whose sentiments i share exactly. (not been following?  see my previous posts on this whole Aware saga).  well, this lady wrote a letter to the President of the National Council of Churches of Singapore, whom (as we know) made a public statement that Christians should not get involved in ’secular organizations’.  this is a man who is supposed to be the one rallying all Christians to stand together and to usher in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the way.

well, this lady wrote to NCCS and expressed her views about the whole issue, the EGM and the ramifications of it all.

1.  among other things, she wrote about how she disagrees with many church leaders’ stand that Christians should not get involved in a secular organization like AWARE, for, aren’t the organizations we work for & the schools we attend secular?  if Christians can’t be involved just because of their faith, then one wonders what we can be involved in… and if this rule is supposed to be applied to all the other religions, then surely nobody would be involved in anything!  remember: atheism is still a religion – they just believe that there is no God (by science or otherwise).  there still is a belief!

2.  she also wrote about how she witnessed a “massacre” of Christians at the EGM…  although “Josie Lau and her team tried to show Christian love to a crowd who hated them, they were jeered and booed.  No one gave them a chance to speak, throwing allegations at their faith and attacking their competence. Josie and her team tried to be gracious but they were not appreciated. And when they raised their voices for some law and order, they were criticized for being rude and unchristian. It was a lose-lose situation for Josie and her team. They had to live out a testimony of what it means to be a Christian and they were not allowed to use the same battle tactics as the opposing team who did not come to listen to reasons nor facts.”

3.  she too, like i did, felt that..

the real deal

and so things didn’t exactly turn out the way i was praying it would at the Aware EGM last Sat (story here).. although i did see snippets of it here and there – especially at the start of the meeting where some people intentionally caused disruptions and the mtg couldn’t even get underway. it took a while, but eventually the trouble maker was escorted out of the hall.. to the applause of the rest (including those she was supposed to be supporting). haha.

the rest of the EGM though.. was, to say the least, chaotic. yet, the mainstream media did not report everything that went on during the meeting.  and i can, as a first-hand witness, vouch for that.

• it was reported that the new exco was not able to handle questions properly not give adequate answers to the questions.  truth is, and as anyone who attended the EGM will tell you… Josie and her team were not given any chance to answer whatsoever!  it was one ‘hoot’ against them after another, and when Josie managed to catch attention to speak.. they’d cut her off, jeer or boo her away less than 2 sentences into her reply.  it was terrible.

• it is true that Sally Ang did tell Margaret Thomas to “shut up and sit down”, BUT what the reporter did not mention was the hundreds (dare i say, thousands) of other less kind words uttered by the opposition all throughout the hall…

confounding the enemy

much ink has been spilt over this whole AWARE issue – about who’s who in the committee, who said what, who thinks what, what’s the plan, how to go forward, etc etc… and i simply don’t want to spend virtual ink on these kinds of issues anymore. it remains to be seen how the EGM will turn out this Sat, 2 May.

one thing is for sure though.

no matter what happens… i know that the Lord will come through for us.  even if it will appear on Sat that we are not on the winning side.  He will, not because we are worthy, or because we deserve to be rescued (although that’s part of it), but primarily because He is zealous for His own Name. and trust me, He is more than capable of protecting and defending His own Name & Righteousness.

so what’s the deal?

I’ll tell you what I’m praying for, and I hope that you can do the same if the Lord leads you to.  I’m praying for an outcome similar to that we see in Judges 7, 2 Chron 20, and other parts of the bible whose stories depict the same message. in Judges 7, Gideon and his 300 men came against a vast army, but God delivered them into their hands because Gideon trusted and obeyed in His Lord.  similarly in 2 Chron 20, the odds were overwhelmingly against King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah.  but because they inquired of the Lord, trusted and obeyed what He told them to do, they did not need to lift a finger to win the battle.

fellow Christian brothers and sisters,
let’s get on our knees to inquire of the Lord and to seek His face.  to beseech Him to intervene for His Name sake.  and on our part, it’s time to rise up. get yourself signed up and cast your vote come Saturday.

some objectivity, at least.

thank God that, at least, there are people out there who are objective about the matter.

ST Forum writer, Ms Han, writes that “AWARE should not lose sight of its original role” instead of slamming the new exco about their stances on homosexuality or grilling them on their personal religious views.

and i totally agree.

AWARE’s mission is to ‘identify areas for improvement in gender equality, encourage positive change, and support women in realizing their highest potential’..  it’s not their mission to be hauled into the limelight about the exco’s views on irrelevant matters.  their main mission, as it were, is to advance the cause of women as a whole, not just to focus exclusively on women who are homosexuals.  i mean, it is very clear that the majority of women are not homosexuals.  and it is these who are in equal, or in most cases, more need of help than practicing lesbians who tend to have a higher socio-economic status.

issues should be kept separate.
and people should learn how to react in a non-emotional manner about things.

are you aware?

a new saga is unfolding before our very eyes, and it’s bringing the Church into the limelight again.  and just before we start jumping to conclusions, can i just say at the outset that this whole issue is not a battle of wits, or anything physical, but spiritual warfare.  the evil one has long declared war on the saints of the Most High, and this is just another of his tactics – to wear us down and turn the whole world against us.

not aware of the issue?  read this. and this.

so a new group of people have taken the helm at AWARE, including Josie Lau, who is now serving as President.  lots has been said about her and the new exco, including their religious positions, their stances against certain issues, and even what their sports and hobbies are!  gosh.  the extent of the media.

but if u think that this is just a mega blown up issue about two groups of women bickering, think again.  this is a direct challenge to the change God wants to bring about in society – through the reaching out of less fortunate women, women with special needs, and other such discriminated against/ disadvantaged women.  the army of God has risen up to the call and has taken steps to boldly stand against what is wrong, but as we all know, they are facing tremendous persecution.  figures right.  since the evil one will not back down without a fight – since when does he?

think about it: the current

in awhile…

just a really quick post to say I’ll be missing in action blog-wise for awhile.  will be really busy this week with several things on hand…

- the most major of which is my thesis paper, due on Friday 17th!
- two job interviews, Wed & Thu 15th & 16th
- two papers on Aristotle, due Mon 20th
- ministry teaching session, Fri 17th night
- ministry section review, Sat 18th
- ministry section exposure outing, Sun 19th

yikes.  God help!