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THE FORBIDDEN PROPHECIES ISBN 978-1-910952-04-7 British Library Cataloging in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. © Copyright One Reason 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any language, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express permission of the copyright owner. Published & distributed by iERA Suite 321, Crown House, North Circular Road, London, NW10 7PN T: 03000 111 365 E: [email protected] W: www.onereason.org Introduction From the Oracles of Delphi in ancient Greece to Doomsday 2012, hu- manity has always been fascinated by prophecies. End time prophecies in particular seem to strike a chord with us and are more popular than ever. Perhaps this is due to the last century having witnessed so much destruction and devastation. Talk of global warming saturates the news, the threat of a nuclear holocaust has persisted since the invention of the atomic bomb and storylines involving asteroids, aliens, and zombie apoca- lypses wiping out all planetary life dominate Hollywood blockbusters. These are uncertain times, and new world events bring fresh speculation and a renewed eagerness to make sense of what’s happening around us by looking to the predictions of prophets and oracles of history. Is it just the fear of the unknown that drives us? There seems to be more to it than that. Today millions of people indulge in practices such as as- trology, tarot, numerology, palm reading, psychics and many others. The reasons are just as rich and varied as the methods; they include curiosity, guidance for everyday life and searching for meaning. It is not solely the domain of the religious, as even atheists, those who claim there is no God, are drawn to trying to peer into the future, with horoscopes being more popular than ever in secular societies. Indeed, the desire to unveil the future is an aspect of human behaviour that transcends culture and religion and is as old as the human story itself. As with most things in life, where there is great demand there is supply. History is littered with individuals and sacred texts that make the mo- mentous claim of being able to see into the future. In this book we are going to examine the prophetic credentials of those in whom millions of people have put their trust. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and we will utilise a number of different tools in order to put the most popular of these to the test. 2 CHAPTER 1 Genuine Prophets or Frauds? Imagine you hear a knock on the door. You open it and are greeted by a stranger: “I can see into the future. Devote yourself to my teachings and follow me!” How would you react? Perhaps you would challenge them by asking for proof. Perhaps you would think the person is crazy, slowly backing away and shutting the door, locking it for good measure as well. Most people in their everyday lives, when confronted with outrageous claims, are understandably sceptical. Isn’t it amazing then, that today, millions of people blindly follow individuals and books that make the momentous claim of being able to see into the future, without ever scrutinising them? This desire to peer into the future can manifest itself in a variety of dif- ferent forms, many of which will be examined in this book. Examples include the famous individuals from history who claimed to be able to predict the future. Such individuals go by different titles including prophet, soothsayer and oracle. Ancient sacred texts which contain predictions will also be covered. Another manifestation is practices such as astrology, tarot cards, and palm reading. Superstitious beliefs such as the concept of lucky and unlucky numbers are also related. Although the rituals and methods differ, all these different systems of prophecy have one thing in common: they are used by the masses to try and see into, and even influence, the future. How can we tell whether a system of prophecy genuinely provides insight into the future? Unlike the practitioners themselves who often rely on mysterious methods to derive their predictions, there are some very practi- cal tools we can use to separate truth from falsehood. One is the accuracy of the predictions - do they get it right all the time? If a person, book, or practice really can provide insight into the future, then they should be able to do so without making mistakes. If they make mistakes, it shows it was merely guesswork rather than a genuine supernatural ability. Another is that their predictions must be numerous, as anyone can make a lucky guess. Another aspect is the nature of their predictions; are they clear and specific or ambiguous and general. Such predictions lend themselves to multiple interpretations and therefore don’t have much value in terms of their predictive capability. Even if the prophecies are accurate, numerous, and unambiguous, they must still not be easily predictable, i.e. obvious to anyone who can analyse social and political circumstance and estimate outcomes. In other words, the predictions should not be the result of a perceptive mind. For example, someone might make the prediction that a young child will have a terrible accident. This is hardly remarkable, because children injure themselves all the time. From that point of view, it would be more remarkable if they could predict which child won’t ever injure themselves! Finally, the personal lives of the prophets are important. If they were known liars, for example, then this would cast doubt on their credibility as it would bring into question their motivations. Using these different tools, we are now going to analyse the predictive capabilities of the most popular individuals and methods in history. 4 Ancient Maya The ancient Maya civilisation, known for advanced writing, mathemat- ics, and astronomy, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, especially between 300 and 900 CE. It reached the peak of its influence around the sixth century CE. Along with impressive stone monuments and elaborate cities, the lost Mesoamerican civilisation left behind traces of its sophis- ticated calendar, known as the Long Count calendar, which scholars have spent decades struggling to decipher. Calendars such as the Gregorian calendar typically start at year zero and then linearly increase over time. However, the Maya calendar is different as it acts like a cycle. It tracks roughly 5,125 years and then resets at year zero. In the decades leading up to the year 2012, popular culture latched on to theories that the end of the Long Count calendar’s cycle—which coincided with the date December 21st, 2012—represented the end of the world in the Maya belief system. The prediction that the world would end in 2012 is the most widely-disseminated doomsday tale in human history, thanks to the internet, Hollywood, and an ever-eager news media. According to a Reuters global poll, in the lead up to December 21st, 2012, one in ten people felt some anxiety about that date [1]. Russia’s Minister of Emergency Situations issued a public reassurance that the world would not come to an end. French authorities barred access to a mountain in the village of Bugarach, where some believed a UFO would rescue them. The United States saw a surge in the sale of underground bunkers and ammunition as survivalists prepared themselves for the worst. December 21st, 2012 came and went without incident. The mass belief that the Maya prophesied the end of the world was all based on a complete misunderstanding of their calendar. Those who believed in doomsday 2012 failed to take into account the intricacies of Maya timekeeping. For the Maya, December 21st, 2012 was simply the day that their calendar went to the next cycle and reset at the year zero. According to the Maya, when one great cycle ends, another begins. In fact, the Maya predicted 5 the world would most certainly not end in 2012. Archaeologist William Saturno discovered a series of numbers painted on the walls at a Maya complex in Guatemala. The calculations included dates that go far into the future: “The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this. We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It’s an entirely different mindset” [2]. With the 2012 doomsday that never was, we have an example of a proph- ecy being attributed to a people who never actually made it in the first place. In spite of this, people continue to be fascinated by the culture and beliefs of the Maya, and still look to their writings in order to try and gain insight into the future. It is unlikely that the Maya had the ability to prophesy because they failed to foresee the Spanish conquest of their own lands. The early sixteenth century saw the Spanish Conquistadors arrive on their shores and destroy the Maya civilisation. The Spanish colonisation entailed forced conversion to Christianity and those Maya who refused to abandon their native religious practices were punished with arrest and torture. The artefacts of the Maya were actively destroyed and all but a few of their sacred texts burnt. It’s difficult to believe that the Maya had the power to see into the future and could prophesy about other cultures and peoples, when they failed to foresee the end of their own civilisation during their lifetimes. Chinese Daoism and I Ching Daoism, also known as Taoism, is a group of ancient Chinese religious and philosophical traditions.