Ancient and modern prophecies give credence to the idea that we are coming to a point of radical discontinuity, if not an end to the world as we know it. Many describe this as a time of major and possibly cataclysmic change, and say the Earth and humanity are at a pivotal juncture in their evolution. Edgar Cayce, Nostradamus, Gordon-Michael Scallion, and many others have predicted a time of great cataclysm, in which even the orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis will shift.

Ancient astronomical calendars, while spanning immense cycles, also contain specific dates that suggest the end of an "age" or "world." The Mayan Calendar was created by a civilization with a sophisticated understanding of mathematics and astronomy. This celestial timepiece simply ends on December 21, 2012, bringing to a close the last of five ages that began nearly 26,000 years ago. Similarly, the Aztec calendar ends in 2013. The calendar encoded within the Great Pyramid contains many dates with confirmed historical significance. Among them are the dates when Moses received the Ten Commandments, Jesus Christ was born, the First World War took place and the Harmonic Convergence occurred. This calendar, which begins in 3999 b.c., ends in 2001.

The Precession of the Equinoxes is a well-known and universally accepted significator of major astronomical cycles. The Earth’s North Pole slowly rotates through the 360 degrees of the zodiac, completing a cycle every 25,826 years. This larger cycle contains twelve sub-cycles or astrological "ages" of approximately 2,152 years each. We are currently at the close of the Age of Pisces, which also ends the cycle of celestial winter or darkness (comprised of six ages or 12,913 years). This means we are arriving at the equinoctial point of the precession cycle, the point at which major planetary shifts have previously occurred.

The Hindu tradition also includes a cosmology of cycles, one of the most important being the cycle of Yugas, long ages of planetary spiritual evolution. Many Vedic scholars believe we are currently completing Kali Yuga, the last yuga in the entire cycle, which spans 4.3 million years. Just as millions of Christians await the Second Coming of Christ, Hindus are expecting the final incarnation of the preserver-god Vishnu, who, in many ways, is analogous to the Christ within the Hindu triune Godhead.

Many native peoples’ cosmologies include records of previous worlds or ages. The Hopi cosmology, for instance, predicts that this, the Fourth World, is about to end, just as the three preceding Worlds ended in complete destruction.

The biblical Book of Revelation describes the period of Tribulation, in which the world is destroyed, followed by a "New Heaven and New Earth." Millions of Christians believe the Tribulation is imminent. In Beginning of the End, John Hague lists the ten biblical indicators of the "End Times." According to the Bible, when these significators come to pass, the last generation of people prior to the Second Coming of Christ will be living. Many of these signs have already come to pass. Israel has been established, the Jews have returned to their homeland, Jerusalem is no longer under Gentile rule, strange plagues which consume the flesh (think of AIDS and ebola) are epidemic, the information explosion is a fact of life.

Geologists are now aware that the long-predominant theory of uniformitarianism is in error. Periodic cataclysms have, in fact, devastated this planet throughout its history. Many were so enormous that they wiped out entire species. Cyclical magnetic reversals of the Earth’s poles may be linked with the cataclysms. In Reality Revealed , Douglas Vogt and Gary Sultan present documented evidence that the Earth’s magnetic poles and rotation have reversed every 12,000 years or so. When this occurs, much of the Earth is inundated by the oceans, while gigantic earthquakes and mini-novas of the sun also take place. In researching the oral and written records of 65 different indigenous cultures and tribes, Vogt and Sultan found that nearly all contain records of a huge flood. Most indicate the Earth’s rotation changed direction, and many include stories of massive fires associated with the shift.

Two chief significators of the time that leads to magnetic reversal are the decline of the Earth’s magnetic field and the wandering of the magnetic poles. Both have been occurring to an increasing degree during this century. Interestingly, the 12,000-year cycle of magnetic reversal seems to correlate with the 12,913-year equinoctial cycle in the precession of equinoxes, which has also been related to cataclysmic planetary death and rebirth. The last magnetic reversal was more than 12,000 years ago, and, as mentioned above, we are again at the spring equinoctial point of the precession cycle.

All of the above significators point to the near certainty and tremendous magnitude of the changes that are upon us—changes that look likely to seriously alter our personal lives and planetary culture as we know it. Not only is an "age" or a "world" coming to completion, but an entire cycle of ages or worlds is also ending! We are at the end of several cosmic calendars, which embrace many ages, as we await the last in a series of Hindu avatars going back to the beginning of creation (which in Hindu cosmology took place billions, if not trillions, of years ago). This is not simply another turn on the spiral of evolution—the entire spiral is itself spiraling into an even larger cycle, carrying us into an entirely new octave of creation.

It is important to face the possibility that reality as we have known it is about to end. Why? The pervasive force of denial can rob of us the opportunity to respond to the "wake-up call." The human ego avoids and resists change; it pulls the covers up over our heads rather than face the fear and surrender to the ego-death that change involves. But if there’s one thing that is inevitable, it is change—and one way or the other, we wind up facing it. We can embrace change, resist it, or be run over in the crosswalk by it before we even know what hit us. The level of change that is currently upon us presents the most enormous evolutionary challenge and opportunity in all of human history. The choice is ours—to consciously embrace the opportunity, or to sleepwalk ourselves out of the game.

Once we overcome our denial and inertia and open to the possibility of radical change, we may begin to wonder where all of this might be going. Do any existing points of reference offer us a glimpse, an inkling—or something more definite—about where all this change might be taking us? Once again, prophecy—biblical and otherwise—and even the evolution of scientific models provide interesting points to ponder.