Millennial Madness
Dear Christian friends,
A thousand years ago, in December, 999, many people thought the world was ending. Churches were filled with people repenting of their sins. Prisoners were released from jail and merchants gave away food. Things returned to normal a few months later when it became clear that the world had not ended.
In 1999, we are hearing many predictions, either of Christ’s return or of a “new age.” I believe that our Lord’s return is near, but also think it is dangerous to predict a date. Too many wrong predictions have caused people to doubt God’s Word.
As we approach the year 2000, we are hearing more predictions of doom from computer experts than from religious leaders. Almost everyone has heard of “y2k,” the “millennium bug.” In the year 2000, computers which still are reading dates with only two digits (such as “98” for 1998), will think it is 1900. This could cause many computers to break down. Our world has become so dependent on computers that power plants (and just about every thing else) could shut down on January 1, 2000.
Businesses and governments are spending billions of dollars trying to fix the problem, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. Experts do not agree about what will happen on January 1, 2000. Some think there will be minor disruptions, but few major problems. Others predict starvation, rioting, and economic depression. A New York Times poll of 1100 computer industry executives found that 38% plan to pull out their money from all banks and investment companies just before 2000.
Some people are moving into rural areas, trying to become self-sufficient. Others are storing food, water and fuel. Many Christian leaders have advised people to make preparations. Unlike natural disasters, this crisis will hit the entire world at the same time.
One Christian newsletter quoted from Revelation 18, wondering if the “millennium bug” could lead to its fulfillment: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great…so shall her plagues come in a single day…Alas! Alas! thou great city, thou mighty city, Babylon! In one hour all this wealth has been laid waste….In one hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
In the Old Testament, God told Joseph to warn Pharaoh to store food for a famine. However, nowhere in the New Testament are we directed to make such preparations. In Acts 11, Agabus prophesied a famine in Judaea. As a result, the church in Antioch sent food to the believers there. Here, Christians are helping others in need, not protecting themselves from disaster.
Jesus said, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” “Take no thought for what you will eat or drink…for your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these things.” It is hard for us to live this way. We tend to trust in our job and bank account more than in God. God uses crises like “y2k” to cause us to trust in Him alone.
What should we do about this potential crisis? We each need to ask God for personal direction. It may be wise to store some food and water for this or other emergencies. It is not sinful to gather and store food. Farmers in Jesus’ day, as today, gather food at harvest time and store enough to last through the year. But I hope, if a crisis comes, Christians who have stored food will share with their hungry neighbors and trust God to meet their own needs.
I think that the “god” worshiped by most Americans is “money.” When that “god” fails them, many will trust in the true God. If the “millennium bug” brings the world to economic collapse, it could lead to a great harvest of souls. Any suffering we must endure during this time of tribulation will be worth it.
Ministry News
San Francisco is blessed with good weather throughout the year. I have witnessed in near-zero weather in Indiana, and it is not pleasant. We do get some rain in the winter. Rarely have we canceled an outreach because of rain. Last year, despite record rainfall, we only canceled one outreach. We did purchase two “EZ- up” canopies that provide some protection from the rain.
The police told us we could not use our canopies at Powell and Market without getting a “temporary occupancy permit.” I called the Department of Public Works and was told no such permit was needed. A street vendor at Powell and Market uses the same kind of canopy without a permit, and the police never bother him. However, we want to avoid confrontations with the police so we are looking for other locations for outreaches, especially during the winter. Unfortunately, we can’t reach nearly as many people at these other locations.
On November 7, we set up our canopies at Telegraph and Haste Streets in Berkeley. We had little rain and ministered to hundreds of people. Mark Hawthorne, known as the “Hate Man,” heckled us for the first time in a year. He seems to have lost his zeal to heckle us, and wasn’t as effective in mocking our Lord as he used to be. Paul and Noreen Coca ministered at all three Saturday outreaches in November.
On November 14, we went to Washington Square in the North Beach district of San Francisco. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We ministered to people lying in the park, and to those attending an art fair in the park. We kept our volume very low and had no problems with the police.
On Friday November 20, we witnessed on Polk Street in San Francisco. Soon after I arrived, I spoke with Lee, a policeman from England. Lee told me about his recent divorce and his mother’s death. He wondered if there was meaning in all this, and how he could cope. He was quite receptive to the gospel. Later, I met Hector. Hector was saved in 1994 and lived in a Victory Outreach discipleship house for a year. Since then, he had backslidden into drugs, alcohol and sexual promiscuity. He told me his life was a mess and he considered suicide. He said he wanted to return to Victory Outreach. Please pray for Lee and Hector.
I spent much of November, along with our lawyer, working on a “Motion for Summary Judgment” for our lawsuit. The motion, including supporting documents, is 450 pages long, including 8 hours of videotape. We had to make four sets of this motion. We are asking Judge Legge to give us an injunction to stop the police from arresting us and denying us permits. So far, Judge Legge has not been favorable to us. Please pray for him, and for the hearing on January 22.
Meanwhile, a different motion to dismiss my criminal charges from last August has been rescheduled. This hearing is now set for January 20. The San Francisco District Attorney has assigned the head of their Misdemeanor Department to the case, indicating that they consider the matter of great importance. He is determined to bring the matter to trial. Pray that the charges will be dismissed and our sound system will be returned.
Coming Events
EVERY FRIDAY 7:15 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Sat. January 9 and 30 San Francisco Outreach. 12-2 PM Union Square. Powell & Geary St. 3-5 PM Powell and Ellis St. Call (510) 531-5325 to confirm and for more information.
Sat. January 16 Berkeley Outreach. 12-4:30 PM. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
SOS-San Francisco
By the time you get this letter, we should have set our dates for next summer’s SOS outreach. Please call us if you need to know them right away in order to get time off work. Besides being the last year of the 1900’s, it is our 20th annual summer outreach and we expect it to be a great outreach. We hope many of you who have attended SOS outreaches over the past 20 years will join us this summer.
Ministry Needs
I know many of you are praying for us regularly, especially for our legal problems. I really appreciate your prayers. “The effec tual fervent prayer of a righteous man [and woman] avails much.” Please pray that we will get permits to hold outreaches in loca tions where we can reach many people. Pray that we will once again be able to get permits for more than one hour at Powell and Market Streets. Pray for more Christians to help us witness on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Pray that God will open people’s hearts and that we will see a greater harvest of souls.
Our Tape of the Month is Evangelism and the Local Church by Sammy Vasquez. As an evangelist, I want to help equip Christians in local church fellowships to be faithful witnesses for Jesus Christ. I pray you will dedicate this new year to serving Jesus Christ with all your heart and reaching the lost. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month. We need your help.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
