Y2K: Are You Prepared?

Have you heard of the Y2K problem? Years ago, when space was at a premium, it was determined that computers should mark time by two digit numbers instead of four (ex: 61 in lieu of 1961). Everyone assumed that this problem would be corrected before we ever approached the year 2000. It wasn't.

As January 1, 2000 draws nearer, many are predicting a worldwide meltdown because of the inability of computers (which operate governments, banks, electrical plants, etc.) to recognize what year it is. Some say the lights will go out all over the world for as long as a month. Others say the stock markets will crash, banks will fail and crime will run rampant. Still others, tying the Y2K hysteria in with poor religious teaching about the significance of the year 2000, are predicting worldwide tribulation, followed by a worldwide turning to God.

This article is not about the Y2K problem. I do not pretend to know what will happen as the new millennium approaches, and I especially do not pretend to know enough about computers to be able to predict how they will react to this unique problem.

However, while there is some wisdom in being prepared in some way for this problem, there is a bigger event facing mankind, and I know exactly how to prepare for it. In fact, Christians in the past were constantly looking for it.

The event is the Second Coming, and the desire for it by 1st century Christians plays a pivotal role in the New Testament. Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica, described the Lord's return "with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God" (1 Thess. 4:16). He tells of the resurrection of souls that have died in the Lord (4:16), and of the destruction of those who are saying, "Peace and safety" (5:3). In his second letter to them, he clears up further misconceptions they had.

Peter, on the other hand, minces no words, promising, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). As Peter describes it, the end of the world will be both exciting and frightening.

How then, do we prepare? Peter says, "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" (3:11-12).

The kind of people we are will determine our fate on this great day. Those who are holy and godly can hope with gladness for His coming, while those who are not will look forward with dread.

It is wise to prepare for the Y2K problem, but it is infinitely wiser to prepare for the coming of Christ. We should look forward with gladness for the opportunity to be united with Him.