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Does Your Church Teach About End Times?

by Andrew Tuttle
10/09/21
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“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” – Revelation 13:18

I have no empirical evidence, but I would not be surprised if most people, especially Generation X, think of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden upon hearing one of the most famous Bible verses about the anti-Christ.

Is Your Church Teaching Eschatology?

Iron Maiden’s song “The Number of the Beast” was released on the album of the same name in 1982 and emerged as one of the band’s most successful records. Melodically, it’s a good song and sadly the band was maligned as Satanists as a result, perhaps ending any chance of the band members and others of finding true wisdom in following Jesus Christ. Sorry, but a number of misinformed and kneejerk pastors in the 1980s demonized a lot of bands from this era rather than standing in the gap for the musicians, many of whom had wives and kids, lived ordinary lives when not on stage, and need prayer.

At any rate, arguably, Iron Maiden has done more to inform, even educate, the public about the End Times and Biblical prophecy than most Christian churches. How many metal heads opened a Bible to Revelation 13:18 in the 1980s because of the song and how many of those that did, took a deeper dive into Revelation and perhaps Christianity?

When was the last time your church mentioned Revelation?

I’ve been attending church regularly since the mid- to late 90s. I was, I think, a Christian long before that. I hated church (grew up going to a Presbyterian church so can you blame me?) and was one of those who felt I didn’t really need to go. Then I found EV Free or Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton in Fullerton, CA, yes, where Chuck Swindoll once pastored. I missed his tenure, but his successor Dale Burke was phenomenal. How many young people rise early on Sunday morning because they want to go to church?

A move to Oregon forced me to find a new church. I opted for a similar style congregation, about the same size with a pastor of the same first name. Several years later, after the sudden departure of the "Oregon Pastor Dale," the new lead pastor left my wife and I scratching our heads after one sermon, so we headed fulltime to another church we had already began attending part-time. The new pastor there was the former high school pastor at our now old church, and we liked him.

Sadly, we stayed there for nearly 10 years.

In that time, I don’t recall one sermon about the End Times, prophecy, the rapture or any study in Jeremiah, Isaiah, any of the minor prophets or Revelation. In fact, the only time I saw a reference to Revelation was during a goodbye ceremony for the lead pastor (who left because the church got too big under his leadership, ya, I don’t get that) who mentioned a verse from the last book of the Bible. I don’t remember what verse, I was just surprised to see it.

Though my wife and I were sad when the lead pastor left, I already had one foot out the door for various reasons thus when the church hired a social justice warrior a year later to replace him that allowed us to leave without any emotional connection.

It also answered a prayer.

A number of years ago, I began a personal search into the rapture. This idea of the rapture (Christians suddenly disappearing on earth to meet Christ in the clouds) used to frighten me. Then I embraced it. Then I questioned it. Then I rejected it. Then I wanted to know the truth.

I looked for pastors and other teachers who talked about the rapture and provided Biblical evidence for or against and when it would occur. This resulted in a near snowball effect of information that kept coming even at times without me looking for it. I also heard a common complaint from these teachers about the current state of the church:

Pastors who refuse to teach on Biblical prophecy neglect 25 percent of the Bible.

Twenty five percent of the Bible discusses prophecy.

Remember that first church in Oregon I attended? Across the street was a little church called Athey Creek Christian Fellowship (now simply Athey Creek Church). At the time, it met at an elementary school. I only mention this because I remembered it throughout the following years. As if God was tapping me on the shoulder and pointing. Go that way! Several years later, someone I worked with told me about the sermons there. Again, as if God was tapping me on the shoulder. Go there!

The pastor at Athey Creek, turns out, discusses the End Times, prophecy and the rapture. All the time. Over the years, I listened to a few of his sermons on the rapture. He was one of those I included in my search for information about the rapture. He even holds “Prophecy Updates” to discuss world events and how they relate to Biblical prophecy.

In January 2020, I first stepped foot inside the sanctuary at Athey Creek thanks to an invite from friends. I immediately felt at home. That month I asked my then Bible study group for prayer on getting my wife to agree to begin attending Athey. A week later we left for Africa and Italy for two weeks. After five days at home, we left for Atlanta for a week. Two weeks after that, the country shut down.

On the first Sunday in our country's history when the government prevented Christians from gathering because of a pandemic, my wife (down and out with the coronavirus) and I watched three services: Our church of nearly 10 years, Athey Creek and a third. Our church, on the first Sunday in our country's history when the government prevented Christians from gathering because of a pandemic, resumed their regularly scheduled topical series.

Athey Creek and the other church put a pause on their regularly scheduled teachings to address the pandemic and how it relates to Biblical prophecy. As the weeks passed, with little to do, we watched more sermons than at any time in our lives. Our previous church of 10 years and Athey Creek were mainstays in our house but it was Athey I reached out to for prayer as COVID overwhelmed my wife.

As it turns out, Athey Creek teaches verse by verse chapter by chapter book by book through the Bible. The church had just started Isaiah so we tuned in every Sunday for the sermon and every Wednesday for the chapter reads.

In one year, I learned more about the Bible and the Lord, and grew in my faith more, than in the nearly 10 years at my previous topical sermon church that never once broached the subject of eschatology. Little did I know, I was craving a steak dinner while being fed baby food over and over and over. On June 3, 2020 we officially left our church of nearly 10 years after receiving an email about the church’s plans to address the systemic racism in America.

I’d bet no one at my former church of nearly 10 years knows that when Jesus said “nations will rise against nations” in Matthew 24, the Greek word used for nations is ethnos where we get our word for ethnicities. So, in effect Jesus was saying when ethnicities rise against ethnicities i.e. races rises against races. I learned this at Athey Creek.

Do I need to remind you what was going on during the summer of 2020?

We were already invested at Athey Creek by this time anyway (as I called it home in January), so the move entirely away from the Bible to the social justice gospel simply allowed us to leave with a smile on our face. In January 2021, a year to the day I first stepped foot inside Athey Creek, and ironically the last time I attended church in person (at least in the United States), I stepped foot inside again but this time as my home church and since then have been pretty much a mainstay every weekend and Wednesday.

I know my new pastor doesn’t like bloggers (I have no doubt many have used the internet to undermine and demean him) but because I am now making up for a lot of wasted years (and with my background as a reporter I do not consider myself a blogger) I have gone back in time watching Athey Creek services online just as I watched in real time on TV for almost a year during the pandemic. (Update: I've studied Athey Creek's entire through the Bible series starting from 2009 three times. This is a miracle in and of itself.) Pastor Brett once encourage the congregation to, in a sense, get active which includes blogging and podcasts.

Ok then…

If you do not attend a verse by verse, chapter by chapter book by book through the Bible church I strongly encourage you to do so. It will change your life. You will learn and have more “a ha!” moments than you can imagine. Churches that study the entire Bible cannot escape teaching Biblical prophecy, the rapture and the End Times.

(Although I want to) I’m not putting down topical study churches, they have their place but these sermons should subsidize your walk, not guide your path. I should know. I attended a topical study for far too long and though I know I sat through some excellent sermons, I couldn’t tell you today anything I learned or walked away knowing. But I can write a few articles on what I’ve learned in the last year or so at Athey Creek.

You can also see what happens when the pastor(s) and staff of a church don’t teach through the Bible. They don’t grow either and quickly get derailed themselves.

Find a church that teaches the entire Bible. You can find Athey Creek Church online. I recommend at least six weeks of not missing a Sunday sermon and Wednesday Bible study before deciding yes or no on this particular church. Have your Bible open and tune out all distractions. I consider it almost a college level course but admittedly Pastor Brett does go down some rabbit holes. In other words, you cannot passively listen.

If Pastor Brett Meador is not for you, and he might not be, then please check out Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Chapel in Virginia who also teaches through the Bible and may appeal to those more traditionalist or Skip Heitzig,  pastor of Calvary of Albuquerque in New Mexico. Even better, if you can attend in person a verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book church in your area, start.