Or perhaps... what happens if these prophesies are true; then you would have to consider that
a) the future is destined to happen and thus there must be some sort of controlling force

this controlling force told these diverse cultures that the "world would end", and
c) it all depends upon your interpretation of these doomsday sentiments.
I do think that something will happen in 2012... but what is still undetermined. Maybe there IS a guiding force in the universe......
So let's assume that theses five different cultures all predicted the same thing, "the world would end". Does it say anywhere that "the gods would come down from the heavens with a rain of fire" (plural)? Sounds familiar... but what are these "gods"? Could they be "aliens" (I must admit, I do hate that world... perhaps "Beings more technologically advanced than us, so much so that our early ancestors mistook them as gods, and being unable to visualize even that the earth was ROUND, they let it lie") coming down from the sky? This "rain of fire" might just be exhaust from a rocket... or some other advanced propulsion device. What they'll do when they get here... if they were so "omnipotent" wouldn't it stand to reason that, being now relatively technologically advanced civilization, perhaps they would share their knowledge with us?
Another way to look at the "and the world will end" is to stick "as we know it" on the end... How about this scenario (and I'm drawing upon Erich Von Danagan (can't spell worth a darn if it's not in spell check ^.^) here): Humans were taken from the breadbasket of civilization, bred and advanced intelligently into something similar we are now.... and strategically placed: China, South America, North america, etc. Perhaps... these "gods", who moved them (great numbers it would seem), told when they would be returning to, perhaps, "judge their progress".... which later was translated into a doomsday "Judgement Day".
Those old books sure have some truth to them... ish....
But I digress. What I really am trying to say is that there are for sure more than one interpretations of these legends and that you should not arbitralilly think, "oh, the world is going to end". On to my personal theory...
Well, I'm not too sure if it is personal, as in I am the only who has thought of this (probably not) but anyhow, here it is:
So, the question, does the world end in fire or flood? Fire could symbolize the gods/ETI coming down from the sky, or water could symbolize the theoretical rising water caused by global warming. But the thing that is pretty consistent is, "the world will end". So......
I'm sure you're aware of the zodiac calendar... First off, Pisces, the fishie. Hmmm... fishie. This could represent humanity, because we live on the water planet; something like 70% of the planet is water. So anyhow... we are going, happily swimming along, building and conquering. Dark ages and the Renaissance and then the Industrial age and now the information age. Uh oh, GLOBAL WARMING. I know that people said the age of pisces was over in 2000, but.... I must admit that that seems VERY accurate. Isn't it n 2012 that when the sun crosses the galactic equator, thus entering Aqueous?
Next up: Aquarius.
A person pouring out water. What if the fish, representing us, is in that water? Well, it would flow out. What if the person in Aquarius is some sort of ETI? Wouldn't it sand to reason that the age of Aquarius is the age of - wait for it - space travel? How do we not know that there is some giant intergalactic confederation that has rules for developing societies.... watch and let develop UNTIL they can be told "you are not alone" and not have a phsicotic break down (that being said, I'm sure some would...)? Would that qualify as "the end of the world, as we know it"? Indeed, it would be the start of
many worlds... unless of course that federation has rules against settling on other planets... But still, our world would be greatly changed.
So, my interpretation of these phophisies: The "gods" will come down from the sky via "fire", global warming and tidal rising will indulge much of the lowlands, and humanity will gain access to the stars, thus the fishie flowing out of the jug of water would be fufilled...
any comments much appreciated!