“What Do You Think About Y2K?”

Wherever I go these days, I am asked the same question. As soon as people in any walk of life find out I am a preacher, the question comes up. I receive letters regularly, asking the same thing, “What do you think about Y2K?”

Every form of public media has done so many reports on the question that many are in a frenzy, fearing that when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999, the world is either coming to an end or we are all going to wish it would. Preachers and religious leaders, as always, have capitalized on the panic, writing and publishing books, holding seminars, making predictions about the end of the world and the beginning of “great tribulation.”

Some people are stock piling bread, water, and other necessary foods, so that they will be prepared for the end. Some are even amassing weapons to protect themselves from those who will come to rob them of their food, when they and their families begin to starve. Let’s suppose for a moment that the prophets of doom are correct in their assertions that we only have a few weeks left. I have a few questions to ask.

Why should this be a matter of fear and dread for any child of God? Do we fear the coming of Christ? Not a believer! Believers are looking for their Redeemer, with expectation and joy (Tit. 2:14). He who put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself is coming again to receive us unto himself. If he appears in the next moment, it will not be too soon. If he does not appear for another two thousand years, it will not be too late. At the appointed hour, once the last of his elect has been called, Christ shall appear (1 Pet. 3:9; Rev. 1:7). When he does, then our salvation shall be complete in the consummation of resurrection glory. That is our blessed hope, not our dread. If he comes on December 31, 1999, or on January 1, 2000, we will rejoice. It matters not to us how he comes, what steps he takes, or by what means he sets the world on fire.

If their is some other great calamity approaching at the turn of the century, and the food supplies of the earth are suddenly eliminated, we are told to amass those things necessary for our survival. Would it not be wise to do so, just in case? I will leave that for you to decide for yourself; but I have another question. Who would want to survive? Not me. Why would anyone who is waiting for Christ, long for the wonderful opportunity to live in a world in utter ruin, as the lone survivor, or with a few other miserable wretches who survived to live in the wastelands of ruin?

If one chooses to stock pile everything he possibly can to “prepare for the end,” and others survive who did not make such preparations, would it not be wise to arm his house to the teeth, to protect himself and his family from the assaults of his starving neighbors? That raises another question. How could anyone who follows Christ even think about killing his starving neighbors rather than sharing his storehouse of provisions?

To be blunt, all the hysteria about Y2K is understandable when I see it among unbelievers. Unbelievers have great reason to dread the end of the world, judgment, and eternity. However, such panic among believers is inexcusable. When anyone ask me, “What do you think about Y2K?” I tell them plainly, “I think Y2K means, “the year 2000.” Beyond that, it is nothing but another opportunity for con men and hucksters, secular and religious, to capitalize upon the fears of others.

Don Fortner