he approach of the Year 2000 has been a bonanza for every prophetic conspiracy theorist around. Although not
linked to biblical prophecy per se, there is one theory concerning the Year 2000 that seems to have some plausibility. That
theory concerns a computer problem called the "Year 2000 Problem," "the millennium bug," or simply Y2K.
Many of us who were employed programming mainframe computers decades ago were instructed to code date variables with 2-digit years. Dates such as July 4, 1976 were coded 04-07-76 and not 04-07-1976. Why? Because the cost of disk space was formidable back then. Since every personnel action or financial transaction had one or more dates associated with it, a large amount of money could be saved by reducing year codes from 4 digits to 2, so 1976 was merely represented by a 76. We all knew that this would cause a problem as the year 2000 approached, but almost nobody anticipated that the computer systems we were developing would still be around 20 or 30 years later. Besides, the money saved in reduced database storage seemed well worth it at the time.
A 2-digit year code may not seem like a big deal, but the ramifications are rather far reaching. On January 1, 2000 the computer systems containing this design flaw will either fail or yield erroneous calculations. How can this be? Here's an example. If you compare a beginning date, 1971, with an ending date, 2001, you get a difference of 30 years. But if you use a 2-digit date, 01 minus 71, you get a _70. So, these legacy systems operating after December 31, 1999 will yield erroneous date calculations or else they will cause a computer system "crash."
How widespread is this problem? The Y2K problem, to the extent it is embedded in legacy software, affects every time-related calculation: retirement, pensions, interest calculations, payments, etc. The problem is most serious in mainframe software systems, but to varying degrees other technologies may be affected. Systems that could malfunction include air traffic control, ATMs, banking, card entry, cars, credit cards, electric utilities, elevators, engines, factories, government checks, heating/cooling, insurance policies, medical equipment, office buildings, phone systems, safes, scales, security systems, sprinkler systems, thermostats, timers, and traffic lights.
More and more the mainstream press is becoming aware of the potential for disaster. The June 2 Newsweek cover story was entitled "The Day the World Crashes" and had a subtitle "Can we Fix the 2000 Computer Bug Before It's Too Late?" Is this hype just a gimmick to sell magazines? Well, maybe. But some of the technical insiders seem genuinely concerned as well. Not long ago I talked with the CEO of a major medical insurance company. The company was spending $26 million a year on the Y2K problem and acknowledged there was no hope of fixing all the systems before the deadline strikes. This same company had checked with its corporate affiliates in all 50 states in the hopes of buying a solution, but found that only one state affiliate thought they "might" be ready. Recent surveys indicated that 34% of all U.S. businesses were unaware of the Y2K problem and only 11% had a plan to deal with it.
What does it take to fix the Year 2000 problem? Unfortunately there are no quick fixes. Some software utilities are on the market to expedite the repair job, but the only real solution is to go through computer programs one line at a time. The average cost of repair is about $1 per line of code. It's a painstaking task of code modifications and system testing. Nationally the cost of repair is estimated at $600 billion. The resulting litigation is expected to be enormous, in the neighborhood of $1 trillion. Interestingly, one of the more prominent Year 2000 web sites is sponsored by a large law firm, apparently in anticipation of a major windfall.
Some of the symptoms of the problem have already become evident. A 104-year-old lady in Kansas received a notification as to where she could attend kindergarten. Prisoners were prematurely released from jail because a computer printout failed to properly calculate their release date. Major credit cards have been recalled because the 2-digit date code of "00" could not be validated with card validation machines. (Check your credit cards; you'll notice many only have 2-digit years on them.)
Who is most vulnerable? Companies and organizations that depend on old mainframe software, most notably banks, insurance companies, and particularly the government. This is where the conspiracy theorists have a heyday: What happens if the banks close? A ripple in the fractional banking system could bring the whole house of cards down in a short period of time. And would you really want to be in the midst of a major metropolitan area when thousands of individuals suddenly fail to receive their welfare checks? or their social security checks? or their government pensions? Such considerations have some literally moving to the country.
Despite all the speculation, it's hard to predict what the Year 2000 shakeout will bring. It is enough to know that God sovereignly orchestrates all things according to His plan. Whatever the outcome, it must be acknowledged that Christ has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth and will "reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Cor. 15:25).
