Prominent pastor and author Michael Youssef is warning about scriptural ignorance and the eventual rise of the antichrist — and his comments are certainly stirring.
“Biblical illiteracy is rampant,” Youssef told The Christian Post in a recent interview. “And people are going to fall for deception, for false teachings, for anything, because they’re not grounded in the Word of God.”
Many Christians believe the antichrist is a figure prophesied in Scripture who will rise, gain power, and control everything that goes on in the world. Experts like author Jeff Kinley believe he will eventually “require [people] to worship him, which is Satan’s ancient ambition anyway, to be worshipped.”
Considering the importance of this eschatological figure, Youssef’s comments about biblical illiteracy, contemporary culture, and truth are noteworthy.
Youssef, who serves at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, addressed in his remarks an ongoing and troubling trend seen in culture today — a lack of biblical knowledge. Youssef said this lack of knowledge is fueling some Christians and churches to take heretical views on contemporary issues.
Among those issues is homosexuality, with Youssef noting some churches might preach that it was wrong in the Old Testament due to pagan worship but is not precluded in the New Testament — an idea he rejects.
“That is not true, because the Bible says, ‘He made them man and woman, and He made them to fit in every way and then made them to marry for life,’ and so forth,” he said. “They throw the whole creation event out of the window.”
Youssef continued, “Or, they say, ‘The God of the Old Testament is a God of vengeance, but the God of the New Testament — which is the old first-century heresy — is the God of love. That is absolutely false.”
With some churches departing from biblical truth, Youssef said there are some concerning dynamics at play.
“When the antichrist comes and deceives the world, we have no discernment because we do not know the words of Jesus,” he added. Read more of his comments here.
The preacher’s comments come amid ongoing research showing a stunningly low proportion of Americans have a biblical worldview. As CBN’s Faithwire recently reported, the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview has plummeted to just 4%.
Dr. George Barna, director of the Cultural Research Center, said the results of his American Worldview Inventory report discovering this minimal percentage are alarming.
“We’ve really got to sit back and think, intelligently and strategically, about what are we doing in reference to worldview,” Barna said. “As we look at that, what we find is parents are doing next to nothing, intentionally; churches are doing next to nothing, intentionally.”
He continued, “And so what’s happening is that every child out there is a free moral agent trying to figure out the world, and I say ‘child’ because a person’s worldview is almost fully formed by the age of 13.”
These figures aren’t only concerning when it comes to the future of the church and upcoming generations; they’re also alarming in light of Americans — and believers more generally — having discernment on everything from essential issues to eschatological realities.
Read more about the worldview crisis here.