Something remarkable is stirring among our young people––a quiet stirring to faith that defies the secular narrative. While media headlines often portray Generation Z as spiritually adrift, recent research tells a more hopeful story: many of our sons and daughters are seeking God with unexpected earnestness, exploring biblical truth, and hungering for authentic faith communities.
According to a 2023 study from The Bible Society:
• 36% of Gen Z in the UK said they are open to learning more about Jesus
• 25% of Gen Z said they have attended a church service in the last year
• 23% said they had read or listened to the Bible in the past month
• 22% said they had joined a prayer room, both virtual and physical
• 15% said they had bought or received a Bible in the last year
This spiritual awakening has continued to gather momentum. The American Bible Society’s State of the Bible 2024 reveals that 54% of Gen Z adults (ages 18–27) agreed that the message of the Bible has transformed their lives, up from 50% the previous year. Additionally, 21% of Gen Z adults reported increasing their Bible reading in 2024, with only 9% indicating a decrease. (Source)
Most encouraging is Barna’s 2025 research, which reveals a notable rise in the number of U.S. adults – especially younger generations – who report a personal commitment to Jesus Christ. According to the study, 66% of U.S. adults now say they’ve made such a commitment, with Gen Z and Millennials leading the surge. (Source)
Balancing Hope with Holy Concern
Yet wisdom calls us to temper our optimism with sobering vigilance. The same generation showing increased interest in Scripture faces unprecedented spiritual challenges. A 2024 study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University notes that only 21% of Gen Z identify the Bible as their primary moral guide, a percentage lower than older generations, with many rejecting absolute moral truth and embracing what researchers call a “new morality.” (Source)
A generation hungry for God but untethered from His Word is like a ship with sails but no anchor.
This paradox creates perfect conditions for the very scenario Jesus warned about, where false prophets and teachers could easily lead astray those who hunger for spirituality but lack discernment. Many young people finding their way into churches may be particularly vulnerable to deceptive teachings that blend biblical language with unbiblical concepts.
The tension between genuine spiritual hunger and vulnerability to deception highlights why raising up the maskilim is not merely beneficial but urgent.
Who Are the Maskilim?
Hidden in the ancient Book of Daniel lies a prophetic term that speaks with uncanny relevance to our moment: the “maskilim” (מַשְׂכִּילִים), pronounced mah-skee-LEEM. From the Hebrew root sakal, meaning to act wisely or understand, the maskilim are those who are blessed with divine discernment during the end of days, when the world will be characterized by ever-increasing darkness and confusion.
Daniel 11:33: “And those who have insight (maskilim) among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.”
Daniel 12:3: “And those who have insight (maskilim) will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Daniel 12:10: “Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight (maskilim) will understand.”
In a world of spiritual counterfeits, the maskilim are God’s authentic currency.
These verses describe not merely religious scholars but Holy Spirit-led guides who:
• Understand God’s unfolding plan when others see only chaos
• Remain steadfast when persecution tests their resolve
• Guide others toward righteousness when deception abounds
The maskilim serve three vital functions in challenging times:
1. They illuminate truth when darkness clouds perception
2. They stand firm when pressure demands compromise
3. They lead others to safety when many lose their way
Unlike mere academic knowledge, their wisdom encompasses true discernment, the spiritual capacity to distinguish divine reality from convincing imitations, authentic revival from emotional manipulation, and lasting truth from passing trends.
Discernment isn’t suspicion dressed in religious clothes, it’s love that refuses to leave the beloved vulnerable to deception.
The Timeless Call to Discernment
Daniel’s prophecy transcends ancient history, it speaks directly to our eschatological moment. As confusion intensifies and deception proliferates, the need for discerning voices becomes increasingly urgent.
Jesus Himself emphasized the critical importance of prophetic awareness when He referenced Daniel’s prophecies in Matthew 24:15: “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand)…” That parenthetical comment, “whoever reads, let him understand,” is Jesus’ unmistakable call to spiritual vigilance.
Similarly, in Revelation 13:16-18, when describing the mark of the beast, Scripture explicitly calls for wisdom: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast…” These aren’t casual suggestions but divine imperatives for believers to develop spiritual perception beyond the ordinary.
Jesus lovingly but firmly rebuked the religious experts of His day for this very failure: “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:2-3).
The church that can predict cultural trends but misses prophetic moments will be brilliantly irrelevant.
Like weather forecasters who can predict tomorrow’s temperature but miss the spiritual climate shift occurring around them, many in today’s church possess remarkable social knowledge yet remain blind to the prophetic season we’ve entered.
The Signs of Our Times
With tender compassion for His disciples, Jesus provided specific indicators to help us recognize the prophetic season before His return:
1. Widespread Deception: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5)
2. Global Upheaval: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars… For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:6-7)
3. Persecution of Believers: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9)
4. Apostasy Within the Church: “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” (Matthew 24:10)
5. False Prophets and Lawlessness: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:11-12)
6. Global Gospel Witness: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14)
Perhaps most sobering is Jesus’ warning about the potency of end-time deception: “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). This reveals that end-time deception will involve genuine supernatural manifestations so compelling that even mature believers could potentially be misled.
When false prophets perform real miracles, doctrine becomes the believer’s lifeline.
The apostle Paul echoes this call to spiritual alertness in 1 Thessalonians 5:4–6: “But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober.”
And in Revelation 12:11, we find the divine strategy by which the faithful overcome deception: “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
Our Current Vulnerability
With loving concern, we must acknowledge several troubling trends in today’s evangelical landscape:
1. A growing preference for emotional experiences over biblical foundations
2. The celebration of charismatic personalities who display supernatural power without corresponding character or doctrinal fidelity
3. An increasing reluctance to exercise biblical discernment for fear of appearing judgmental
4. The marginalization of believers who raise reasonable concerns about questionable teachings
5. Widespread biblical illiteracy that leaves many unable to detect subtle doctrinal distortions
The church that sacrifices discernment on the altar of unity will soon have neither.
This vulnerability becomes particularly concerning when we consider the paradox presented by Gen Z, a generation simultaneously showing increased interest in spirituality while largely rejecting absolute truth. Without proper discipleship by modern-day maskilim, this combination creates fertile ground for the very deception Jesus warned about.
A Sacred Calling
The spiritual hunger emerging among Gen Z is not merely a demographic trend to analyze, it is a divine invitation to the church. The rising statistics from multiple research organizations suggest that God is already at work, preparing hearts for truth. When 54% of Gen Z adults affirm that the Bible has transformed their lives and younger generations are leading a surge in personal commitments to Christ, we witness the ongoing fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that the gospel would spread to every nation and bear fruit in the last days (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:9-14).
God never shows us hunger without inviting us to bring the bread.
Yet the Cultural Research Center’s finding that only 21% of Gen Z use Scripture as their primary moral guide should serve as a holy warning. This generation’s spiritual openness, without the anchor of biblical discernment, could leave them vulnerable to the very false prophets Jesus warned would characterize the end times.
Just as 1 Chronicles 12:32 celebrates “the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,” today’s church needs those who possess not just cultural analysis but prophetic insight.
We need fewer trend forecasters and more watchmen on the wall.
We must raise up the maskilim of our generation, believers who:
• Know God’s Word with depth and discernment
• Refuse to compromise under cultural pressure
• Shine as bright witnesses in a confused and divided world
• Lead others gently but boldly into the truth
This means becoming modern maskilim by:
1. Pursuing Biblical Literacy: Immersing ourselves in Scripture until its truth becomes the lens through which we evaluate all claims and experiences.
2. Practicing Theological Discernment: Learning to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary doctrines while holding firmly to essential truths.
3. Cultivating Spiritual Maturity: Recognizing that discernment isn’t merely intellectual but spiritual, developing through consistent obedience and Christlikeness.
4. Embracing Prophetic Courage: Being willing to speak truth even when it contradicts popular movements or influential leaders.
5. Maintaining Humble Teachability: Avoiding both gullibility and cynicism through a posture of humble dependence on the Holy Spirit.
In the last days, discernment won’t be a spiritual luxury but a survival necessity.
As Gen Z opens the door, with 21% increasing their Bible reading and a majority finding transformation in Scripture, the church must rise to meet them, not with shallow answers or mere affirmation, but with the radiant wisdom of Christ and the protective guardrails of biblical discernment.
The paradox of Gen Z’s spiritual interest alongside their rejection of absolute truth creates both an opportunity and an urgency. We can celebrate their openness while recognizing the critical need to ground their seeking in the uncompromised truth of Scripture, lest they fall prey to the deceptive voices that would lead them away from Christ into eternal perdition.
The greatest act of love for Generation Z is not validation of their journey but guidance to the correct eternal destination.
In this prophetic moment, may we answer the sacred call to become the maskilim, those who understand the times and know what the church should do. For as Daniel promised millennia ago about the end time generation:
“Those who have insight (maskilim) will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” —Daniel 12:3
