The end in 2012?

All that hype about the world ending on Dec. 21, 2012?

Forget the date, said area ministers, but be personally prepared.

A disaster movie released this week, "2012," focuses on the idea of global catastrophic consequences that coincide with the end of an ancient Mayan cyclical calendar on or around Dec. 21, 2012.

Wayne Layton, pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, said books, documentaries and movies that deal with end times do so well because people are fascinated by the subject.

"I do think it speaks to a reality, just not the full reality," he said. "It's an expression of how most people in all cultures and all times recognize the transitory nature of life and the temporary nature of things."

The Rev. Christian Smith, pastor of Silverdale Cumberland Presbyterian Church, said people have asked questions about the end times recently, throughout his ministry and throughout his life. They also were asked of Jesus Christ in New Testament writing, he said.

"You can find signs (of the end of the world) anywhere," he said. "When we focus solely on end times, we're worried more about ourselves than other people. We should put our focus on helping other people."

The Rev. Mark Flynn, senior pastor of Christ United Methodist Church, said he doesn't object to people attending a fantasy movie such as "2012" for entertainment.

"But don't kid yourself that people in Hollywood give a hoot about what Scripture says," he said. "If that's their source of theological inspiration, they're in a real difficult place."

Part of the 2012 mystique stems from people's fascination with the solar system. On Dec. 21, 2012, the winter solstice, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years.

People fascinated with end times discussions also claim the Egyptians also saw 2012 as a year of great change and that NASA has predicted a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares in 2012.

Area pastors said in the Bible when the disciples of Christ worried aloud about the end of the world, Christ cautioned them there always would be false prophets who would predict such a thing: "But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but my father only" (Matthew 24:36).

Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Flynn planned to mention or mentioned end times in recent sermons, but both said suggested lectionary readings were more the impetus of their messages than the movie.

Mr. Smith, who will speak Sunday on "Can All This Rain Be a Sign of the End Times?," said his message is basically that "we know (the end) is going to happen sometime, but we don't know when. Our focus should be on helping other people to be prepared (spiritually) for when the end time does comes."

Neither the rain nor a date in 2012 should be seen as such a sign, he said.

Mr. Flynn, whose message last week was "Jesus Says 2012 End Time Is a Load of Baloney," used the book of Mark as his reference. From chapter 13, he cited Christ's words that brushed off the disciples' concerns about the end of the world and turned them instead to the need for God to work through them.

"(The date for the end of the world) is a nice distraction that Hollywood creates," he said. "What Jesus said is nobody knows (the date), not even me."