Distinguished pastor and author Michael Youssef warns against ignorance of sacred texts and the eventual rise of the Antichrist–and his comments are certainly stirring.
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“Biblical illiteracy is rampant,” Youssef told The Christian Post in Cairo. Recent interview. “And people will fall into deception, because of false teachings, for anything, because they are not based on the word of God.”
Many Christians believe that the Antichrist is a figure prophesied in the Bible who will rise, gain power, and control everything that happens in the world. Like the experts thought author Jeff Kenley Eventually “he will require (the people) to worship him, which is Satan’s old ambition anyway, to be worshiped.”
Given the significance of this eschatological figure, Joseph’s comments on biblical illiteracy, contemporary culture, and truth are noteworthy.
Joseph, who works at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, addressed in his notes an ongoing and troubling trend we see in culture today—a lack of biblical knowledge. Youssef said this lack of knowledge leads some Christians and churches to adopt heretical views on contemporary issues.
Among these issues is homosexuality, with Joseph noting that some churches may preach that it was wrong in the Old Testament because of pagan worship but was not forbidden in the New Testament – an idea he rejects.
“That’s not true, because the Bible says, ‘He made them man and woman, made them fit in everything and then made them marry for life,’ and so on and so forth.” He said. “They throw the entire creation event out the window.”
Yusef I continued“Or they say: The God of the Old Testament is the God of Vengeance, but the God of the New Testament—which is the ancient first-century heresy—is the God of Love. This is completely wrong.”
With some churches deviating from biblical truth, Joseph said there are some troubling dynamics at play.
He added, “When the Antichrist comes and deceives the world, we have no discernment because we do not know the words of Jesus.” Read more of his comments here.
The preacher’s comments come amid ongoing research showing that a staggeringly low percentage of Americans have a biblical worldview. As CBN’s Faithwire recently reported, the percentage of adults who hold a biblical view of the world has dropped to just 4%.
Dr. George Barna, director of the Center for Cultural Research, said the results of his American Vision Inventory report finding that this lower percentage is Alarming.
“We really have to sit down and think, smartly and strategically, what we’re doing in reference to the worldview,” Barna said. “As we look at that, what we find is that parents do nothing, on purpose; churches do almost nothing, on purpose.”
And he continued, “And what happens is that every child there is a free moral agent trying to discover the world, and I say” child “because a person’s view of the world is almost complete at the age of 13.”
These figures are not only related to the future of the Church and future generations. It’s also troubling given that Americans – and believers in general – have an acumen on everything from fundamental issues to eschatological truths.
Read more about the worldview crisis here.
