I remember thinking when I was twelve that the year 2000 was fictional. I was convinced it was a year that belonged in a sci-fi movie and it was scary thinking of living in “the space age.” I remember hearing church people say that Jesus would come back before 2000 so we really didn’t have to worry about it – we’d all be gone.

My youth group watched a movie titled A Thief in the Night, based on the words of the Apostle Peter which foretells the day of the Lord’s return as being unexpected, and it scared me to death. Millions of Christians disappeared from the earth and the movie depicted life thereafter. Multitudes of disasters occurred as cars and planes, buses and trains were suddenly unmanned. Something far worse than the Holocaust took place in that film and it left me with a stark fear—so I put it out of my mind.

Well, here we are, it’s January 2013; it’s just like all the January’s before. At least I think we’re all still here. I’m actually writing this article on December 21, 2012—my deadline for the January issue. I’m sure you recognize that date, the last day on the Mayan calendar; the day that millions believed the world would end. So, to clarify, I should say that I assume it’s January and that we are all still here.

Assume is an interesting word isn’t it? We assume that tomorrow will be just like yesterday, or today. A writer points their pen into the future, writing days, weeks, sometimes months in advance, assuming their words will be relevant to the reader. Many assumed Y2K would be the end of the world, too.

Some assume the stories of Christ’s return are a myth, or that after all these years they have become irrelevant. It’s as if in our sophistication and intelligence we have adopted the assumption that a biblical end of the world scenario is not very probable. But isn’t assumption a risky pill to swallow in the attempt to calm our future fears?

We all fear the future in one way or another. We can’t see it, we can’t touch it, and we can’t control it. So, what do we do with it? Generations have wrestled with this looming question. It seems that everyone, regardless of race or creed, wonders when the world will end, what it will be like—or if it will occur at all.

But, we can think about that later, right? After all, 2013 is no different than 2012 or 2000, right? How interesting, then, that between A.D. 64 and 66 the Apostle Peter wrote, “…scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Peter knew that many of his readers were fearful of the future and so he added, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:4,9 NKJV)

I’m well past my fear of the year 2000. I accepted Jesus’ claims and exchanged my assumptions for His assurance. I truly feel that to assume Christ is not coming back soon, or ever, can anesthetize for the moment—for if the Bible is wrong, then it’s just another book on the shelf. But if it is right, and Christ comes back like a thief in the night to claim His own—then those who ignored His message and thought it was all just a good sci-fi story will be left behind with a fearful future.

Need a worthy New Year’s resolution? Resolve to examine the claims of Christ in the Holy Bible now before the future becomes today.