Losing Their Religion?

A commentary in The Daily Signal tracks the disturbing data that shows America’s youth are becoming less interested in the Christian faith. We’ve known for some time that church youth leave the faith when exposed to college professors mocking the Bible. But now we are staring at the abyss of younger youth following that path early!

“There are several potential reasons for this. Today’s teenagers are growing up in a society that is increasingly hostile to faith, especially regarding faith-based values, and the social cost of being identified as religious amongst one’s peers is getting higher with each passing day.

“Christian pollster George Barna documented this in a recent survey that found religious teenagers hesitant to use the words ‘evangelism’ and ‘convert’ because they are fearful of being branded as ‘intolerant’ of other beliefs.

“Secondly, many churches tend to focus on the older end of their membership spectrum and leave those who are younger to fend for themselves. When there is not a support system or sense of community amongst one’s peers, teenagers and young adults tend to drift elsewhere and away from the church, with many never coming back.”

We see here, too, that both young and old are not being served well in Bible instruction.

The article makes many great points, but I’d like to add an idea that can help youth enjoy a vibrant faith. My idea is not common these days, and many would roll their eyes, but hear me out.

One area that is almost completely lacking in today’s American churches is solid instruction about Bible prophecy. For various reasons, it has fallen out of favor, either dismissed or mocked even by pastors and well-known teachers.

However.

The Bible’s predictive prophecy is astonishing. It is an amazing proof that the Bible is true and that the God described in the Bible is the One True Creator.

Our book, It’s the End of the World As We Know It [get it in the “Our Books” section] , is a great resource for this. But let’s consider first a prophecy that is, I believe, impossible to refute.

•Hundreds of times throughout Scripture, God promises to restore the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. Sure enough, in 1948, after 2,000 years of exile, the modern state of Israel was established.

Deuteronomy 30:1-5 speaks to this, written 3,700 years before it happened:

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.

If you read this passage, then look at the history of the Jewish people, you will see that this prophecy has been fulfilled in remarkable detail. After the Romans expelled the Jews from Palestine (historically, before the 2ndcentury, Judea), they lived in virtually all the nations of the world. Today, Israelis have come from 185 countries around the world.

If you wish to dismiss this, check your bias. Check your heart and ask yourself why you reject this as a Divine fulfillment of prophecy.

There is much more to learn about Bible prophecy, and in that journey, you can boost your own faith or that of your children, grandchildren, spouses, etc.

Only the God of the Bible can call history before it happens.

“Remember this, keep it in mind,     take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago;     I am God, and there is no other;     I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning,     from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand,     and I will do all that I please.’

(Isaiah 46:8-10)