One of the search terms that has seen a lot of movement on YouVersion over the last few weeks is the phrase “mark of the beast.” Each week, hundreds of visitors are looking for more information about that term from a biblical perspective. It’s not always easy to identify what could drive up search traffic, but it does seem likely that some of this activity is centered around the discussion of whether the vaccinations against COVID-19 contain some type of tracking device that could be likened to the mark of the beast which is described in the book of Revelation.
There’s no doubt that Christians around the world are fascinated by biblical prophecy and some of the best selling books in Christian bookstores are often focused on how current events are related to some of the predictions made by prophetic writing in the Bible. Many pastors have risen to national prominence based largely on their work in helping Christians understand some of the references made in the book of Revelation. And, that clearly comes through when looking at search traffic - those people sitting in the pews each Sunday morning are seeking out information about how the world will end.
But, how widespread is the belief in the End Times among born-again Chrisitans? In March of 2020, right as the lockdowns were beginning as COVID-19 cases began to surge in the United States, myself and several colleagues put a survey into the field. One portion of that asked respondents to register their agreement or disagreement with the statement, “We are very likely entering the prophesied end times."
In the overall sample about 35% of respondents agreed with that statement. However, among those who identified as evangelicals, it was much higher at 57%. However, the relationship between church attendance and belief in the end times is not what many would expect.
The most likely group to believe that we are in the end times is obviously those who attend church at least once a week. About two in three of the most active evangelicals think that the end times are near. As church attendance declines, so does belief in this aspect of evangelical theology. Just a third of those who register their attendance as “seldom” agreed with the statement.
However, what also stands out is that over half of evangelicals who say that they never attend church agree that we are entering the end times, that’s not statistically different from evangelicals who attend church once a month. Why might this be the case? It’s hard to point to a single reason, but this category could include people who are devoutly religious, but are unable to physically get to church any longer. Or, it may be people who were drawn into evangelicalism by reading writings like the Left Behind series or some other popular book on biblical prophecy but never managed to find a church where they feel truly comfortable.
Either way, the search activity in the YouVersion app, as well as this survey data points to the same general conclusion - people are deeply interested in the concept of biblical prophecy.
They will seek out information about this topic wherever they can find it and it would be wise for pastors to understand that you can be a trusted voice in this conversation. Focusing a few Sunday sermons around the topic of prophecy, the rapture, and the End Times, may be just what many of your members need to help understand the topic—and know the church is also a place they can go to explore their curiosity. By becoming a trusted resource for them on this topic, you can meet people where they are in a relevant way, creating more trust and engagement with your people.