Today, December 31, is the last day of 2006. As we look back over the year, many national news headlines may have taken center stage, many sports stories may have grabbed our attention, and many personal achievements or disappointments may have affected our hearts, but one thing probably stands out the same for all of us-time has rapidly flown by! It seems like just yesterday that many were worried about Y2K, and now it's already 2007!

The quickness that this last day of 2006 has come is a small reminder of the quickness with which the Last Day-Judgment Day-will come! This quickness is not measured in days and years, for no one knows when the Last Day will come (Mt. 24:36). Rather, this quickness is measured in at least two other ways. First, our earthly life-span is very brief compared to eternity (cf. Ps. 90:10). When we die, our eternal fate is sealed (cf. Lk. 16:19-31). Thus, at death, when our spirits separate from our bodies (Jas. 2:26), so far as judgment is concerned, it will be as if the Lord has come! Is it any wonder then that James would say that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5:8)?

Second, this quickness is measured by unexpectedness. In writing of the Second Coming, Paul states, "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them..." (1 Thes. 5:1-3). The "thief" imagery, when used of the Second Coming, emphasizes unexpectedness (Mt. 24:43; Lk. 12:39; 17:24-32; 21:34-36; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15). When people are not expecting the Second Coming, the Last Day, which will coincide with Judgment Day (cf. Mt. 25:31-46), and they are alive when it happens, in that sense, it comes quickly!

A final similarity between the last day of 2006 and the Last Day is that we can make adequate preparations for this transition of time. Many will make plans with fireworks and party supplies to bring in the New Year, but how will many of us prepare our souls for the coming of the Lord? We prepare by obeying the Gospel (Mk. 16:15-16; Lk. 6:46) and continuing to live by it (2 Cor. 5:17-18; Rev. 2:10). Are we ready for the Last Day?