Later this month, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, will be talking about the Antichrist at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco as part of a sold-out event presented by a group called the Acts 17 Collective.
The Silicon Valley-based group has tech industry leaders exploring the intersection of the Christian faith, work, and culture with a four-part lecture on the topic that Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries says pastors have not been trained to cover.
"The seminaries aren't equipping them properly," she laments. "I am told that seminaries spend simply a minimal amount of time on eschatology."
But she points out that the Bible does not shy away from this topic; one-third of it talks about issues such as the Antichrist, Jesus coming in the Rapture, the Second Coming, and the Tribulation.
Earlier this year, Tipping Point founder Jimmy Evans wrote an opinion piece about pastors' apparent reluctance to tackle these topics. He believes some simply feel inadequate to cover the complexities, but many fear coming across as sensational, controversial, or uncomfortably negative.
Dr. Alex McFarland, a Christian apologist, says a robust eschatology needs to be a decisive theology.
"To really preach fully orbed sermons on the return of Christ and what the Bible has to say about the end of the world, it really requires one to take a theological position, which many ministers are not willing to do," he submits.
He thinks part of the problem is too many pastors are sitting on the fence.
"Take a position, ministers," McFarland urges. "Read the Word. Have the courage to take a stand."
Evans agrees that avoiding prophecy "does a profound disservice to our churches, "especially in these unprecedented times."
