Twenty-first Century Predictions

Prophets of old have made countless predictions about the future state of our world, and the turn of this millennium, with its attendant air of uncertainty and expectation, has led to a resurgence of interest in their writings. Many believe that among the documented visions of the past can be found the keys to the future of mankind, and in fact, the third millennium was a focal point for many famous seers. But while some see promises of a glorious future for the world in these visions, there will always be those doomsayers among us determined that the predictions of the master soothsayers foretell nothing but impending global disaster.

For example, the sixteenth-century French seer, Nostradamus, predicted that 1999 would be the year of the "King of Terror from the sky". Some were convinced that this happening, in whatever form it took, would be a foreshadowing of the apocalypse. That no such terror materialized didn't render Nostradamus' foresight invalid to the soothsayer's supporters, however. They claim that Nostradamus accurately predicted the advent of such technological wonders as the airplane, the submarine and atomic warfare, and point to this as proof of his infallibility. Thankfully enough, he also foresaw that the new millennium would usher in a time of peace.

The problem with such predictions is one of interpretation. Many past prophecies were penned in verse often using cryptic language-in some cases to avoid charges of witchcraft during the turbulent times in which they were recorded-and thus much of what the visionaries had to say is open to wide interpretation. In addition to this, changes in our methods of timekeeping make it difficult to determine exactly when the proposed events might occur, rendering useless the valuable foreknowledge, if any, that could be gleaned from the predictions and fuelling the controversy surrounding their validity.

Edgar Cayce, perhaps the world's most documented psychic, predicted that the earth would shift on its axis in the year 2000 or 2001. Some believe this will occur on May 5, 2000 when the sun, moon and five of the planets fall into alignment with the earth, an occurrence that doomsayers claim may trigger large-scale catastrophe in our world. Conversely, Cayce also foresaw the emergence of a new world order at this time that would see man realizing the need for interdependence and coming together for the good of all.

The ancient Mayan prophecies also foretell the coming of an era of knowledge and wisdom, placing it in the year 2012, the date on which the Mayan calendar comes to an end. But again, while there are those who believe that the end of this calendar signals the end of time, other interpreters tell us that the Mayan's carefully kept astronomical records indicate that man should now be entering what the Mayans referred to as the fifth age-a time of global enlightenment.

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