Think on These Things

_{November 1998}

_Contents:

1. The Year 2000 (Y2K) - Is it the End?

2. Of Current Interest

3. The Y2K Situation As We Know It

4. Ye often hear it said...

The Year 2000 (Y2K) - Is it the End?

Since this subject is being used by many religious teachers to motivate their disciples, we have made it the topic of this issue. The author is a computer science professional, and part of his job is the management of consultants fixing Y2K problems for the Alabama Department of Transportation. We have also attempted to gather information from recent industry publications as well as talking to others engaged in solving these problems for government and industry.

But first, what does this have to do with religion? It would have little to do with it if everyone was totally in touch with the reality of the problem - if we all knew exactly what the future holds when the clock turns from 99 to 00. But even the most informed of experts admit that they do not know for sure just exactly what the extent of the problem will be. Thus, it is easy to generate fear out of ignorance.

Some things, however, are sure: (1) No one knows the time of Jesus' coming (see pg. 4), and since the turn of the century is so full of speculation, the chances of this being the end seem greatly reduced; (2) Those who are secure in Christ have nothing at all to worry about (Mt. 6:25f); God will take care of us; and, (3) There will always be doomsday prophets who would stampede us from the realities of Items 1 and 2 in order to make merchandise of those who are religious (1 Pet. 2:1-3). By the same token, it is expedient for us to be knowledgeable about the dangers and opportunities of this world. For, in so doing we are exercising good stewardship over that which God has entrusted to us, we are taking care of our own (1 Tim. 5:8), and we are enabling ourselves to refute those who would prey on the ignorant.

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Of Current Interest

A Nation in Ruins. No, I am not referring to the United States - we have our problems to be sure, but we are not in ruins. The same cannot be said for the Soviet Union. My first recollection of Russia was on October 4, 1957 when they launched their Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to this earth. It scared us to think that there even could be another super power. Shortly afterward, George Orwell's prophetic book, 1984, became required reading at our schools, and we were convinced that the curse of "big brother" was inevitable. Later, fear of communism motivated our involvement in Viet Nam. But somehow, even though we lost that war, 1984 came and went without event. We not only survived, we thrived. Our fears were not justified. A greater Power was at work (Rom. 13:1; Dan. 2:21).

Russia's problem is that their economic system was based on a series of lies - that they could evolve a non-competitive society in which there would be no private property, but where everyone would cooperate and work together for the common good. Sounded great!!! But, while this utopia evolved, the Communist Party would have to oversee this "revolution." The state had to become the single dominating influence in all of their lives, so they declared God obsolete and created an atheistic society. It had to fail because it was founded by fools (Ps. 53:1). But its failure was in due season (see Gen. 15:16).

How could so many people be duped into believing this lie for so long? Perhaps before we ponder this question we should contemplate the lies that much of our society accepts as truth today. It is easy to be deceived when you really want to be believe a lie. But this lie - that we can ignore God's law and still prosper as a country - will ultimately be exposed. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" Ps 9:17. Have we forgotten God? Let us all keep God first in our own personal lives for the sake of our nation.

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The Y2K Situation As We Know It

On one extreme are the prophets of doom, and on the other are government officials trying to protect the public from itself. As usual, the truth is somewhere between these extremes.

First the bad news. The largest problem is the shortage of time and people who are skilled in fixing the faults. No one of the errors is that difficult to fix, but there are literally billions of them, and programmers tend to create as many problems as they solve when updating.

The federal government just allocated 3.23 Billion dollars to solve this problem (federal government only). This can only compound the problem by moving programmers who are productive in the private sector to positions where they have no experience. The major problem is in mid-sized companies and foreign countries who have not yet begun to assess this problem. It seems clear that before it is all over, hundreds of billions of dollars will go to this task, which will produce no tangible benefit to society. This, coupled with business failures, seems sure to lead to a recession that will become evident in mid 1999.

On the positive side, most professionals are aware of the problem, and we have a solid year to deal with the most critical needs first. Companies' profits will depend on getting it solved, and that is a major motivator. The problem is not going to wait until January 1, 2000 to manifest itself - there are several check points before that. So, if there is going to be a major problem, we will have additional warning.

There might be unexpected disruptions in power and transportation systems, but these will be temporary at worst. If there are major problems, they will be psychological in nature: panic, runs on banks, a sharp downturn in the stock market, looting and burning in the cities. These are the problems of human perceptions, not the result of Y2K per se. But, as we saw with the recent L.A. riots, it does not take much to cause major disruptions.

Be vigilant and take due precautions, but do not panic. 1 Pet 5:6-7: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

God IS in charge (Rev. 4&5).

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Ye often hear it said ...

"The world is coming to and end on ..."

but in 1 Peter 3:10 it states:

"... the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in

the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and

the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and

the works that are therein shall be burned up."

See also Mt. 24:35f. One religion has repetitively predicted the end of the world on average about once every 20 years since the late 1800s. And they have gotten away with it! This in violation of the God-given method for determining false prophecy (Deut 18:21-22): "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken ..." You would think that religions based upon false predictions of the end of the world would disappear. But not so. They prosper because of ignorance and superstition (i.e., the belief that there just might be something to it). Making predictions of doom is safe and easy. If it comes true they say: "I told you so." But if it does not, no one ever checks. Do not be deceived. Learn the truth from God's word and you will see that the answer is to be ready always for the return of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:12-14). "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). Someday tomorrow will be too late. That someday could be today.

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