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I guess you all have heard about Y2K. If you haven't, as they say, what rock have you been living under the last six months or so? Every Christian outlet on radio and TV as well as shelves (if books and videos in Christian bookstores feature it. But for those under the rocks, "Y2K" is an abbreviation and simplification of "the year ('Y') two thousand ('2K'). "K" can stand for a number of things; a strikeout in baseball, but a thousand in computerese. Computer hard drives and chips starting in the 1970's and continuing into the '90's were made with only two digits standing for the year in the calculations, much like you probably write 6/18/1999 for the date on your checks. This was done originally to save precious memory space on the chip. As bigger and bigger chips were made, the practice continued out of convention, I suppose. At any rate. no consideration was given for the fact that the understood l9- before the double digits for the year would have to become 20-" in the year 2000 and that computers would not be programmed to know this and would assume that it was the year 1900 instead of 2000, creating real problems for all date related transactions and calculations. Since almost all business and industry transactions, calculations, and plans are run by computer nowadays, this could mean real problems in every area of modern life-Social Security and pension checks, bank transactions and accounts, food distribution, transportation, utilities, etc.
I first heard of the Y2K crisis over a year ago and I must admit that from the first I was cautious if not skeptical of the whole thing. In the first place it seems we have reached the place in the church where we are awash with conspiracies and rumors of conspiracies. Our distrust of the government (especially the present administration) and all those who are in cahoots with it including the media, education, and finance coupled with our belief in the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ as prophesied in Scripture makes us peculiarly prone to conspiracy theories- I do believe along with most Evangelicals in a literal fulfillment of Bible prophecy-the rise of Antichrist, a one world government of which he will be the head, and the great tribulation closing with the return of Christ to this earth. One problem we have. however. with these beliefs is positively identifying current events with those prophesied in Scripture. Errors of this kind over the past hundred and fifty years or so should make us cautious about new claims that "this is that prophesied...." Most Y2K alarmists say the crisis fits well into Bible prophecy for the end time.
I was also cautious because of the natural association (of course) of Y2K with the year 2000. Any turn of a century. no less a millennium, is bound to produce a rash of frightening doomsday predictions, so I have been on the lookout for them.
But the main reason I was skeptical of the Y2K crisis when I first heard it was that it was accompanied by directions to store up enough food and water to last for weeks or months and to purchase an electric generator, or, in more drastic strains of the predicted crisis, move to a more remote location, ideally along with other believers. It was these directions that made me resistant to the Y2K scare, because I have been prejudiced against this kind of response to crisis. All my life growing up in Assembly of God Churches we heard of the rapture of the church and the great tribulation. the mark of the beast and the coming of the Lord to earth again. Although the Assemblies of God as a denomination was and remains firmly committed to the dispensationalist pre-tribulation rapture (that Jesus will come secretly for His church before the beginning of the seven year tribulation, then back to the earth visibly with the saints at the end of it), there were always enough dissenters around even in the Assemblies who were mid- or post-tribulationists (that the rapture would occur in the middle or at or near the end of the tribulation) to keep the pre-tribulationists lively and animated in their insistence that the church would go through no part of the tribulation. This meant, of course, that believers should not prepare for the tribulation, seeing that they would not be here to experience it. On the other hand, mid- and post-tribulationists were prone due to their belief to prepare for the tribulation by either storing food. water, etc. or moving out into remote areas and building underground houses or Christian communes. So all my life I have heard these kinds of preparations put down. In fact they were put down by the vast bulk of Evangelicals. seeing that they were predominantly pretribulatiomsts Therefore, I have been dumbfounded at the great reversal of what was previously considered bizarre or off the beaten path behavior~the recommendation from across the board with few exceptions that we should indeed do at least some of these very things to prepare for Y2K.
Those who put down hoarding resources or moving to isolated areas to prepare for the Lord's return (and often in conjunction with a date having been set for the event) cited several texts for their rebuttal. A favorite was Luke 25:28 where Jesus, after listing a number of events by which His own could discern that His return was near, says;
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
When these things begin to take place" would include the beginning of the tribulation which, according to most who are sounding the Y2K alarm, may be triggered by the computer failures. And what does Christ say we should do in preparation'? When these things begin to take place~-what'? Take a month or two of cash out of the bank? Store up water and food? Buy a generator? Move to Montana? Trade in your investments for gold coins'? No, "Lift up your heads because your redemption draws near." And to those who do face the great tribulation, the Lord's directions are;
It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking. buying and selling, planning and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside. should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Luke 17:28.33)
Jesus directs them away from material preparations or preservation. No mention of a few suitcases or boxes of stuff ready at hand or a hideaway prepared Some say that the Jews in Israel will flee to Edom in the desert and be preserved from the wrath of Antichrist in fulfillment of Revelation 12:6 and 14:
The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. so that she might flee to the place prepared for her in the desert. where she would be taken care of for a time. times and half a time, out of the serpent' s reach.
Even here, however, it is not the woman (interpreted according to the context as Israel) but God Himself who made the preparations.
Briefly, the Y2K crisis as it was first presented to me and as it basically continues to be presented is that after midnight December 31,1999: 1) computers will fail or put out faulty information causing massive loss of power and water and other utilities as well as a failure in food distribution and sales, 2) because all the computer systems in all aspects of business and industry are interconnected and interdependent, and 3) since there is not enough time for the limited number of computer programmers to find and fix all the gazillion lines of code in all the hard drives and embedded chips that run practically everything in our country today, and 4) there will be no magic cure or silver bullet"' solution to the problem as some naively may hope for between now and 2000, 5) disaster is absolutely inevitable and therefore 6) if you want to survive you better head for Montana or stockpile enough food and water and generate enough electricity with a generator to survive weeks, months, or even years (depending on how alarmed the alarmist is to which you are listening). One added element according to all of those speaking or writing on the subject is, no one knows for sure what will happen on January 1, 2000."' Maybe nothing, maybe very little, maybe quite a bit, maybe a whole lot, maybe the end of civilization forever as we know it. It all depends, again. on which experts in the field you believe. So the best thing to do, they say. is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Now at the very outset I thought, "Why is the problem unfixable?"' I'll admit my knowledge of computers and how they work is, like most people's, pretty slim. I just turn it on, click my mouse on a few spots,type a little, and turn it off, like a super-duper typewriter. Somebody else has already figured out how it all works so why should !? If it breaks down or won't do what I want it to, I call a friend who knows more about than I do or an 800 number or take it to a place that fixes them. It's the same way I do my car; get in it, turn the key, put it in gear, give it some gas, steer and brake it, change the oil, maybe replace a starter or water pump, but otherwise I'm at a loss to do major repairs. But I know they can be fixed, that is, unless the cost of repairs makes it impracticable. They were made, so they can be fixed. It must be the same way, I reasoned, with computers. Why can't you just go back and tell the thing to recognize 20- instead of just 19-? Well, of course, you can (or, that is. somebody can) do this. The problem. according to alarmists. is that here are not enough trained programmers working around the clock for the next (then year and a half) to even make a dent in all the computers and chips and their codes that would have to be fixed. So the situation is hopeless. they said.
Something else in my severely limited knowledge of computers that everything is constantly changing so fast in the field that an upgrade is practically obsolete by the time it reaches the market. Components that are still perfectly functional can be purchased by the table full for a few bucks at auctions. The only problem is that the equipment is not as advanced as that now found in your appliances. Who can say that no solutions will be found for the Y2K problem in the next year and a half or two (at that time)?
Then a few months after 1 heard about Y2K a couple visited cur church with their 20-year-old son who was one of these computer whiz kids. Because of his expertise, I offered something on the Y2K alarm. "Some people say we're all going to be looking for food," I said.
He showed no concern. "The company I work for sells software for $99 that will correct the Y2K problem on personal computers."
I told him we didn't do anything on our computers that is date related.
"Then you don't need it," he said. Thus came my first great realization that not all the alarmists information was correct or up to date. If this guy's company had such a ready solution, surely there were others. There would he no need for an on band programmer to go through all the computers in a business at all. Just run some software on it. The program would go through the millions of lines of code and automatically search out and fix the problems in a matter of minutes.
This also made me wonder about all the quotes alarmists gave from "experts" and House and Senate committees. How old were the quotes that said there wasn't enough time to fix the problem.? If they were six months old or more, they could very well be just as obsolete as the equipment you see for sale at auctions.
Because of all these considerations, very early in my awareness of Y2K I down played it publicly from the pulpit. It seemed to me to he just another of the fad hysterias to which the church seems prone nowadays, one of the "winds of doctrine" by which so many seem so easily blown about.
My thoughts were confirmed and broadened by Dave Hunt's latest book, Y2K, A Reasoned Response to Mass Hysteria;Harvest House Eugene, OR; 1999. Y2K alarmists always deny that they are spreading fear or panic. Above all, don't fear: don't panic; trust God. But it is wise to be prepared." Don't panic. Calmly walk into the bank and withdraw your savings; calmly go buy a generator and other emergency equipment; calmly go about preparing for the worst disaster ever to hit civilization. If their predictions were any where near correct, few would be able to resist being thrown into a panic. Right beside Dave Hunt's book at the local Christian bookstore were a number of other best selling books. I picked up one of the most popular, The Millennium Bug and How to Survive the Coming Chaos by computer expert Michael S. Hyatt. read the back cover:
12:01 A.M. January 1, 2000: Your electricity goes off. Phones aren't working. The computer at your local bank crashes. Police and 911 are nowhere to be found. The illusion of social stability is about to be shattered,, and nothing can stop it...The results will be catastrophic.
Social Security checks will stop coming. Planes all over the world will be grounded. Credit card charges will be rejected. Military defense Systems will fail....
There will be massive, long-term power failures. Bank funds will be inaccessible. Insurance policies will appear to have expired... Telephone systems will fail to operate. IRS tax records and government funds will be unavailable.
The Federal Reserve will be unable to clear checks. Time security vaults will fail to open or close on time. Traffic signals will fail to function. Office systems will fail and your employer will go out of business. (Hyatt, Regency Publishing, 1998, front and back cover as quoted in Hunt, pp.9.10)
In order to sound reasonable and balanced, those who predict such chaos urge everyone not to panic, but the admonition is empty in the light of such a disaster should it occur. And the panic created by these predictions would be enough to cause serious problems on their own if believed by significant numbers of people. A list of those who are leading the way through Christian media to alert people, especially the Christian community, to the Y2K crisis shows just how pervasive the topic has become: Larry Burkett, Christian financial advisor, popular author, and radio broadcaster; Grant Jeffrey, prophecy teacher and author of one of the most popular Y2K books, Millennium Meltdown, Donald S. MeAlvany, editor of the McAlvany intelligence Advisor; Chuck Missler, highly regarded defense and electronics expert; Gary North, Christian reconstructionist author; James Dobson; Pat Robertson; Jack Van Impe; Hal Lindsey; Jerry FaIwell; and a whole bevy of Christian magazines, programs, and periodicals-the list goes on and on. Most of these foresee disaster to one degree or another. Burkett, who has a reputation for being sensible and conservative. recommends that everyone get a generator and enough cash to last a month (which by itself would cause major banking failures if followed by only a small percentage of people). McAlvany recommends that every household should have a six-month supply of dehydrated or freeze dried food on hand. Gary Noah is one of the most pessimistic. He has moved to a rural location equipped with its own private natural gas well and three electric generators run by natural gas. James Dobson has been promoting one of the most extreme alarmists, Michael Hyatt and his book The Millennium Bug. Jerry FaIwell's National Liberty Journal advised people living in downtown New York or other large cities that they "should probably make plans not to be there January 1, 2000..."The nation's inner cities could face major looting and violence." People should put away enough food and provisions to include neighbors, "Christian brothers and sisters and the poor." It urged pastors to prepare to help individuals and their communities by stashing large food supplies (October, 1998; quoted in Hunt, p.136). Julian Gregori of The International Crisis Management Center said to look for property "at least 100 miles from any cities larger than 100,000 population" (p.232). David Wilkerson says he was directed by the Holy Spirit to instruct the members of his congregation to store up a two-month food supply in preparation for the panic and world-wide economic depression he prophesies is eminent (and which he has been prophesying is eminent for 25 years now). He says Y2K may be the thing that will set off the chaos and depression he has been prophesying.
It is no real surprise to see some of the ministries in the list of alarmists who urge these kinds of preparations, because they have been prone to similar things in the past; but others have been known for their relative soundness and sensibility. It is a little baffling to see them among the ranks of those whom we ridiculed some years ago for actions like these.
In his book Dave Hunt critiques and rebuts many of the main points stressed by the alarmists;
I) "There is nor enough time to fix the problem. Most of these predictions were based on then current rates of progress at the times given, up to a year and a half ago and more. They often ignore more recent developments and progress made to fix the problem. A common error that alarmists make is to continue to accentuate and sensationalize any discouraging reports and ignore positive strides and accomplishments. In addition, it is often claimed that business or agencies are behind schedule on compliance or have missed their deadlines for certain areas of compliance. but this does not mean they will not be ready January 1, 2000, as alarmists commonly assume. Another common claim is that even if solutions were implemented, it is too late now because testing the system would require a year to a year and a halt. Hunt refutes this claim and asserts that testing takes only days, not months. Another claim related to "not enough time" is that
2) "There is no "silver bullet." That is., there is. no quick fix or easy solution. Most alarmists went farther, saying neither would there he any "silver bullet." But Hunt cites a number of just such silver bullets:"
One statement repeated by most of those trying to alert us to the grave dangers posed by the coming of January 1, 2000, goes something like this: 'Don't imagine that someone is going to come up with some shortcut solution. There is no silver butler!' In fact, a number of shortcuts that have been developed are now in use such as StepWise Solutions:. ..once the tool has identified the necessary changes, the actual code is modified at the rate of up to 4 million lines of code per hour! (pp.56,57) A number of shortcut alternatives such as 'windowing'. postpone the problem far off into the next century so that there will be plenty of time for permanent solutions to be implemented (pp.68,69). Tava Technologies.. has developed a tool for automatically finding year 2000 errors in manufacturing's embedded systems.'.. Boeing responed that it 'ran a tool called 'Y2K Sniff,' which is able to quickly identify areas with a date or time component.' That eliminated the necessity the alarmists repeatedly stress of examining every chip or every line of code....Steve Hewitt declared a new program that Citibank is using, for example, just three months ago, that they're saying now does 30 days of work in one day... Oracle's now coming out with new software that's 100 times faster than that. (p.85)]....'The newest [is] Hybrid-Radix,. offered by StepWise Solutions....[which] searches for, identifies, and repairs anything in a system that is not Y2K compliant....'. These 'silver bullets' that supposedly could never be invented are arriving on the scene one after another, They effectively eliminate the major problem that is so often cited as proof that 'Y2K problems cannot be solved: not enough time before the deadline of January I, 2000.' In fact, there now is plenty of time. One thing is clear: the disastrous scenario that has aroused such alarm and has been the basis for so many newsletters, websites, books, and the sale of so much emergency food and supplies will have to be surrendered to the reality of solutions now available. These time-saving solutions effectively sound the death-knell of the Y2K bug, turning it into a bugaboo that can frighten only the superstitious and uninformed. (pp.123,124)
In addition to these and other solutions, corrective patches can be downloaded free off the internet for many products and personal computers.
3) Even if you could correct all the computers. there are millions of embedded computer chips in systems that regulate all kinds of processes in cars, trains, planes, elevators, security systems, telecommunitanton, medical equipment, and military systems, and these are either not correctable, impossible to get to, or, again, there isn't enough time to fix or replace them. Hunt points out a number of fallacies related to this major problem cited by alarmists. Jack Anderson of Larry Burkett's ministry has often claimed that there is a chip in every transformer on every electric utility pole. This is simply not true . Second, it would not be necessary to go down into the oil wells in the North Sea or the Alaska pipeline and check and fix the millions of chips there as some alarmists often claim. All one would have to do is took at the engineer's schematics and codes to find where each chip was located and whether it was compliant or not. In addition, most of the chips in a system would be identical, If you tested one, you would know whether the others were okay (pp.52-54). Third, an embedded chip is not going to shut down a system. especially because of an error in date. The well-respected Gartaer Group reported on October 7, 1998:
Embedded Systems will have limited effect on Year 2000 problems, and we will have a minimal number of failures from those devices. Only 1 in 100,000 free-standing microcontroller chips is likely to fail due to Year 2000... and of those that fail, the majority will fail right at the millennium, and the majority of these will only fail once-if they are active when the clock ticks over" (pp.81,82).
"'Steve Rosenstock of the Edison Electric Institute, which represents America's publicly owned utilities,' says that 'the chances are very slim that [an embedded chip~ would shut down the system.'"(p.84).
"Boeing conducted an assessment of the airborne Systems on its commercial airplane fleet..., [which showed that only a few of the airborne systems on its airplanes use the date function. In addition, no safety-of-flight issues related to Y2K for airborne systems exist for an airplane in flight. [i.e.. a glitch isn't going to shut the system down!] Certain airborne systems on some models will have erroneous flight deck effects following rollover to Y2K, Although most of these systems will continue to function as designed. Boeing recommends that operators upgrade such affected systems....
Hunt adds,
{Boeing}views the problem as no more than a possible nuisance in the cockpit. It has upgraded software to cover Y2K, but doesn't say it must he installed or the equipment won't fly. It recommends that operators acquire the upgrade, but apparently it is not essential for operational safety . . Either the Boeing engineers have lost their minds, or those who are warning of chaos and disaster because of the change of clock to the new millennium are speaking from ignorance and are greatly overstating the possible consequences (pp. 109,110).
Likewise, Texas Instruments, the leader in the manufacture of DSP solutions (expensive and complicated embedded chips), "recommends that customers [download] corrective patches [from their website], but does not predict disaster if any of them fail to do so" (p.111). Hewlitt Packard, world leader in manufacturing personal computers, test instruments, and medical equipment, concluded that only 8% of their products require updating (most do not perform date-related processing). Updates are available on their website. Hunt adds,
Clearly, very few embedded chips or software features will even be affected by Y2K, and those that are will not bring down the system except in rare instances. And even for those problems one is not aware of, it is possible to have a contingency plan and to handle the crises if and when they occur (pp.119-121).
The premier trade magazine on the subject. Embedded Systems Programming, in its Tenth Anniversary Issue (November 1998), in contrast to the ever more shrill cries of alarmists, did not contain so much as a whisper about Y2K in its nearly 150 pages! (p.213). The January 1999 edition of Embedded Systems Programming carried an editorial which stated, "Ten months ago in this space I asked for those of you who have encountered year 2000 problems in embedded systems you're developing to let me know. In all the e-mails I received, no one cited a verifiable problem." The articles planned for 1999 (including the December issue) in this premier publication on embedded systems which goes out to the true experts working in this field will not even address Y2K. In contrast to this deafening silence among those who know the facts, Christian 'experts' continued to sound the alarm" (p.267).
4. Even if almost all computers or chips were compliant, including yours, by communicating with ones that are not compliant, yours might shut down or be thrown out of compliance by incoming data from the non-compliant ones. Hunt shows that this often made claim by alarmists is pure misinformation.
Data coming into a computer isn't going to shut it down. Data is data. An essential part of Y2K compliancy includes a program for checking all incoming data to make certain it is also compliant, and if not, to reject it (pp 108,109).
Related to this claim is the mistaken notion that the Y2K problem is a computer "virus" or "bug:" The Y2K problem is often called a computer virus.' It is not a virus. . . . [I]t doesn't leap or creep from one computer to anther. (p.121)
In addition to the foregoing mistakes alarmists commonly make, Hunt adds and demonstrates that they are often guilty of quoting outdated and inaccurate information quoting each other without verifying their facts, and ignoring new and promising developments.
Hunt also points out what has been obvious to me in my observation of the Y2K message and phenomenon; there are a lot of people making a whole lot of money at it. Pervading the whole is a sort of crass invested material interest in painting a gloomy or scary scenario. Ads for books and "preparedness kits" can be seen everywhere, all with a hefty price tag. An ad in Jerry Falwell National Liberty' Journal read,
"[large letters] Y2K.. . We will offer for a limited time this top quality 100% preshrunk cotton t-shirt, silk screened in Gold Metallic ink... Attention fund-raisers, this is a golden opportunity to meet your financial goals. Discounts are available" (p.160).
Civilization as we know it may be coming to a screeching halt, but at least we may be able to use it to reach our fund-raising goals and go down with our Y2K t-shirts on.
Other ads ran Falwell's magazine urged readers to 'Order Your Emergency Food Supply Today'. For $85 one could purchase 'The Countdown to Chaos, a six [audio tape series and preparedness manual'" (p.89).
Marion Maddoux and Oliver North do Y2K commercials on their radio networks for a gold coin dealer.
Steve Hewitt writes: 'People are trying to sell! emergency survival food and Y2K books covering everything from growing your own medicines (because all of the pharmacies will close) to how-to books on growing your own Y2K garden. People are even selling real estate based on the Y2K panic.'.. The worse it sounds. the more books and tapes and newsletters they sell (p.87)
Benny Hinn, in typical fashion, used the Y2K fears of his viewers as a fund raiser During an interview with a Y2K alarmist on TBN no less than four times he interrupted, turned and looked into the camera, and affirmed, "But. those who give to the Lord's work will he protected!" Concerned about all these possible Y2K difficulties ahead? Buy some insurance against it with a check to Benny Hinn Ministries or TBN.
As a joke. one of the members of our church put a stack of ordinary plastic buckets he picked up for nothing where he works and set then out at a garage sale in Neosho. He pot a sign on them that read "Y2K buckets." They sold like hot cakes!
It is clear that a lot of people have a invested in a lot of businesses that are making a whole lot of money on the Y2K crisis. It 's . . .say, plague a great percentage of the Christian population. No wonder alarmists ignore or down play positive developments but never fail to report any gloomy ones no matter how baseless or outdated they may be-they've got a lot of cash riding on it.
As Dave Hunt says, in the light of any positive developments, Y2K alarmists "hang tough." Their most usual response to any reports of compliance by business or government is, "Yeah, right." They often claim that anyone, including experts, who say Y2K is no big deal is in denial,. is uniformed, or deceived, or worse~deliberately covering up. Only those who are alarmed realty know what's going on. The Y2K phenomenon is, in this respect, like the "King James Only" movement. It carries all the weight of a spiritual revelation, coupled with conspiracy theories, which makes it almost impossible to de-convince someone once he has "gotten the revelation." If you're not concerned, you must be deceived. Like those who were convinced that the rapture would occur in the fall of 1988 (and '89), Y2K'ers will probably not turn loose until after January 1, 2000 has come and gone.
Some of the areas of most concern to the alarmists are the electric utilities, the FAA (which regulates air travel), Social Security, and nation~ defense. Dave Hunt looks at each of these and other areas of concern and defuses them:
After spending years searching for and correcting Y2K problems, many companies have yet to encounter a Y2K-related situation which, had it not been corrected, would have shut them down on January 1, 2000. For all the general talk about computers crashing, one is hard pressed to find anyone who can give a specific example of a Y2K related problem that would cause more than a minor irritation... The man in charge of implementing Y2K at one of the largest suppliers of electric power in North America personally explained.. .in answer to specific questions from this author:. . . They have been working on this for years, testing and searching for anything that could possibly go wrong. So far they have found a few minor Y2K problems, but nothing that could have shut the systems down had they not found it, No one can guarantee that all possible problems have been uncovered,' but nothing that may be overlooked would shut the system down. (pp.106,107)
FAA administrator Jane Garvey, insisting the organization will be ready. announced plans to fly across the country shortly after midnight January I, 2000. Boeing and Airbus say their aircraft have no Year 2000 safety issues (William C. Phillips in Popular Science, quoted in Hunt, p.90). One good reason we have for doubting many of the alarming conclusions concerning the deep problems we will face... is the fact that so often they are based on outdated information(ran..,. For example, early in September 1998 we were told that the FAA was only 30-percent ready and would never make it in time. But by early in October, the FAA announced that it was already 90-percent compliant. In December 1998 n special news conference was held to announce that SSA was certified 100 percent compliant (p.46).
Hunt cites specific things the Department of Defense has done and is doing to be compliant. Congress earmarked $1.1 billion for the effort.... Most of what is being fixed or replaced would not have caused a critical problem had it been left untouched (pp.70-75, 105,227).
Hunt dismisses the idea that businesses or the government is deliberately covering up the problem and lying about compliance. Major corporations didn't get to where they are in their highly competitive fields by ignoring the problems that alarmists say will bring disaster. People lie because they think they can get away with it, that they will not be found out. But with Y2K, if they are lying they are sure to be found out, as January 1, 2000 will certainly come.
Hunt deals with a number of the most sensational failures" in computer systems reported by alarmists as harbingers of a Y2K disaster, among them that-
I) A nuclear power plant in Florida that shut down during a test that ran the clock forward to 2000. Hunt shows that the reports are really a hodgepodge of supposed events in various places that contain much misinformation and cannot be confirmed. 2) Florida Power and Light had issued a statement to the effect that beginning January I, 2000, they would be without power between 4 and 13 months. Hunt checked the story with the company and they denied that this was the case or that such a statement had ever been made. (pp.49-51)
Since most of the alarmists are conservative Christians, it is natural that Scripture would be an integral part of their presentations and materials. Let's look briefly at the main ones as well as some of the more bizarre. In each case, the Scriptures used either do not apply to Y2K or are otherwise misused. The verse most often heard from the alarmists is Proverbs 22:3 (repeated in 27:12)
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: hut the simple pass on, and are punished.(KJV)
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge. but the simple keep going and suffer for it.(NIV)
The Bible commends those who prepare for coming evil and calls those who don't "simple" stupid. But does this apply to Y2K? The key is "foreseeth." . Exactly what is the evil forseseeahle for Y2K? Even the alarmists say, "No one knows for sure what will happen-" So even they don't foresee evil, but only the possibility of it. And if we approach the subject reasonably, we foresee far less possibility of the kind of evil that requires special preparation than we would for other things. I don't have medical insurance because I can't afford it, but I do have term life insurance (it is certain that I will die unless the Lord comes back first). Automobile liability insurance is required by law in Missouri, but I would carry it even if it weren't. If I lived on the coast of Florida or Texas I would prepare for an approaching hurricane, but I wouldn't board up the windows unless it was truly approaching, not just four or five hundred miles out in the gulf or ocean and liable to all kinds of changes of direction between here and there. What is the degree of likelihood that Y2K will produce real problems, how severe will the problems be, and how long will they last? The less evil you foresee, the less special preparation, if any, is called for, and you are not "simple" for doing so.
Many cite the example of Joseph. In fact, one organization attempting to mobilize efforts to "minister to their communities" in case of a Y2K disaster is called "The Joseph Project." But God supernaturally warned Joseph of the coming famine through dreams He gave Pharoah which Joseph interpreted by the Holy Spirit. Who can claim this level of certainty of the coming evil of a Y2K disaster?
R.C. Sprout wrote in his magazine that some, as an objection to hoarding up food and water as he recommends, refer to Jesus' words in in His Sermon on the Mount"' in Matthew 6:34-
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (KJV)
Sproul tries to make a case for this verse not applying to preparations for Y2K, but actually what Jesus said in the passage leading to this 34th verse seem to fit quite well:
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things wilt be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. "(Matthew 6:25-34)
Are we to say that these admonitions are applicable only in ordinary and not extraordinary conditions'?
Some cite the parable the ten virgins in Matthew 25 for Y2K preparedness. The five foolish virgins ran our of oil because they didn't carry enough for the night watch, and they missed the wedding procession when the bridegroom came while they were out trying to buy oil in the middle of the night. This is no direction for hoarding resources, however, but a lesson on spiritual preparation for the Lord's coming.
Chuck Missler, one of the most vocal and popular of the Y2K alarmists, speculating on the relationship of the Y2K problem to the second coming of Christ, curiously suggests the possibility of Daniel 7:25 as a Y2K prophecy:
But here's the phrase that's interesting: "And he [Antichrist] shall think to change the times and the laws."' Does this have anything to do with the year 2000'? 1 don't know... (Missier tape quoted in Hunt, p.17!)
"Changing the times and the laws"? I don't get it. I thought fixing the Y2K problem was a good thing. The massive effort underway correct the computer problem, i.e., in this case, "changing the times and the laws" is not being done by Antichrist.
Even more curious is David Wilkerson's reference to Isaiah 51:8
Years ago I sent out a warning entitled "Destroyed by a Moth,"' based on Isaiah 51:8: The moth (which is a bug) shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm (bug) shall eat them like wool." We have worshipped and idolized our technology~and how ironic that our nation could be humbled, not by a mighty army, but by a bug~a worm~a moth eating away at the cloth of our technology. Amazing! What an awesome God we serve!. (Letter to his supporters. December, 1988)
Actually this is rather typical of the troublesome way in which David uses the Old Testament prophets, as if they were prophesying in one of our congregations today. We can apply the principles of Scripture to our day even when it has no direct reference to us; but we must first interpret Scripture. including and especially prophecy, in the light of its historical context and fulfillment. David ignores these things and sees Old {as applying} to our day even when it has no direct reference to us; but we must first interpret Scripture, including and especially prophecy, in the light of its historical context and fulfillment. David ignores these things and sees Old Testament prophecy, among other things, a first nuclear strike against the U.S. from Russia.
We have already talked about the fact that worldwide financial disaster does not fit into the scenario for the end time prophesied in the New Testament. Rather, Jesus said that prosperity and complacency would continue to lull people to sleep right up until the end.
One passage I think might be applied to the Y2K message and many conspiracy theories Christians seem so vulnerable to today is Isaiah 8:12-14-
Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary.... (Isaiah 8:12-14)
Many in Israel were troubled and fearful of the great political changes taking place in their day and the possible effects upon them. Isaiah reminds them that these things are not to be feared by the people of God. God Himself is to be our fear. We should be so concerned about preparing for judgment and pleasing Him in all that we do that there is little room left for conspiracy theories and fears of far lesser evils and preparing ourselves to survive them.
Hunt gives a good illustration of just how vulnerable we conservative Christians are to certain conspiracy fears. None of us think much of the Clinton administration, including his cabinet officers. When we heard that Attorney General Janet Reno had said (the quote can be found everywhere, it seems) that those who have a strong belief in the Bible and the Second Coming of Christ; frequently attend Bible studies; have a high level of giving to Christian causes; home school their children; accumulate survival foods; have a strong belief in the Second Amendment and distrust big government are "cultish., a threat, qualifying them for government interference," we believed it, didn't we? Problem is, the statement is a hoax; Reno never made it, The same can be said for rumors of the government suspending the constitution over Y2K or that concentration camps for Christians have already been built (p.261). Our attitude about reports like these should be that of a fellow who lives not far from here. who, when someone told him they were building facilities in Oklahoma for beheading Christians, exclaimed, "Oh?! Really?! Can I be first?!" He is in no great anxiety about how he could stay here in this old troubled world.
Y2K alarmists frequently assert the adage that "it is better to be safe than sorry" and that if the whose thing turns out to be a fizzle, no real harm will be done. We can always give the freeze dried food to the homeless. But as Dave Hunt points out, why would the homeless eat freeze-dried flood when hot meals will be available? The fallout from this non-crisis certainly will be harmful. All the people we have "witnessed"' to about Y2K, including our friends and relatives, will have added reason to think we are a bunch of kooks, and they will be less inclined than ever to listen to anything else we have to say about the Lord in he future. "Crying wolf," as the old fable tells us, has consequences. Christians are almost certain to be blamed if there is any panic or ridiculed when nothing important happens, and man's pride in his accomplishments will receive a huge boost. Yeah, we had all these nut case Christians running around the country telling everybody we were on the brink of doom, but we solved the problem; our intelligence and expertise got us through. And the fallout will take its toll in the form of disillusionment on all those Christians who put so much stock as well as time and money in the alarmists message.
We should never stake our credibility on anything except the more sure word of prophecy"--Scripture itself. There is great folly in risking your reputation and credibility as a believer, or, even more important, as a minister of the gospel, on Y2K speculation or a coming worldwide depression as David Wilkerson has done. We must reserve such a stand for the plain teaching of Scripture alone~that there is a hell, that judgment is certain, that Christ will return (though at an unexpected time),that there is salvation in none other but Christ, that one must be born again, that God has not changed His mind about sin, etc. We're on solid ground there.
And, can't we trust our heavenly Father? How could Corrie ten Boom prepare for the concentration camp? Yet God saw her through. and even though her father and sister died, God saw them through. too, because our hope is not in this world. We need to lay up treasure, but not on earth for Y2K. We need to lay up treasure for ourselves where Christ said to lay it up in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where (our) treasure is. there {our] heart will be also (Matthew 6:20,21). Dave Hunt in the end recommends having at least three or four weeks of food water on hand in light of the possibility for panic (p.263). but I don't think I'll even do that.
Until next time. may God bless and keep you all.
Leon Stump, Pastor of Victory Christian Center
Background from Greenfield Graphics.