It starts innocently enough.
You go online to look for the football scores or a recipe for overnight oats and before you know it you have fallen headfirst into a bottomless pit of hot takes, conspiracy theories, and people who definitely should not be allowed near a ring light. For our teenagers this is daily life. Their feeds throb with memes, micro-sermons, and viral predictions. If they do not live there themselves, their friends most certainly do, and the conversations spill over into the lunch hall and the youth group.
In recent weeks two big themes have bubbled up into mainstream media through the swirl of reaction after Charlie Kirk’s sudden death. One is revival. The other is the rapture. Both have produced floods of videos, comments, and endless speculation. Both require a calm, clear, biblical response if we are to shepherd our young people well.
So how do we handle these online storms. Let us think first about timing, then about content.
When the feed runs faster than the flock
The first pastoral question is not what to say but when to say it. Social media does not wait politely for a sermon series to catch up. It shouts in real time. If we remain silent, we leave the teaching role either to well-meaning influencers or to the darker corners of the internet. At best Christian social media will try to do the discipling for us, at worst it will be TikTok creators who are more interested in clicks than in Christ.
That means we should respond quickly enough that our teenagers hear from their shepherds before they hear from strangers. But not so quickly that we simply add noise. Speed with sobriety is the order of the day. Sometimes a brief word to parents within a day or two is enough to frame the issue: “We see this, we care, we will open the Bible together, you are safe to ask anything.” That buys time to prepare a thoughtful and scriptural response.
The next step is to listen. Ask the young people what they have seen, what they understood, and how it made them feel. Do not rush to rebuke or dismiss. A little curiosity goes a long way.
And then, most importantly, open the Bible. The digital storm will be weathered only by the ancient words.
Revival without hype
Revival is the easier of the two themes to explain, because it is biblical and glorious. In essence revival is when God chooses to bless the ordinary means of grace with extraordinary fruit. His Spirit magnifies Christ through his Word, prayer deepens, repentance becomes common, and love for the lost and the church flourishes.
We see glimpses of it in Acts 2, where the Spirit falls and thousands believe. We read of it in church history, whether in the Welsh revival, the awakenings in North America, or the astonishing growth of the Korean church.
When explaining revival to teenagers, keep two safeguards in view.
First, the means are always ordinary. Preaching, prayer, the sacraments, the gathered church. Revival is not fireworks in a field but fire in the heart. If a so-called revival sidelines the local church or downplays preaching, caution lights should flash.
Second, the fruit is what matters. In true revival people get smaller and Christ gets larger. Confession of sin, reconciled friendships, hunger for Scripture, love for the lost. These are the signs to look for. Noise and novelty are not the measure.
And then invite your young people to pray. Do not let them become spectators of other people’s stories. Give them a psalm to pray, a friend to invite, a habit to form, and the expectation that God delights to revive his church. That turns hype into hope.
Rapture without panic
The rapture is more complicated, partly because the word itself carries different meanings. Our own tradition, conservative and reformed, does not teach a secret disappearance of Christians before a later return of Christ. We do, however, hold firmly to the historic Christian belief that Jesus will return once, bodily, visibly, and gloriously, to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. That is catholic, creedal Christianity and it is very good news.
How do we explain this to young people who have just seen a TikTok countdown clock predicting a specific date. Start with Scripture.
In 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul comforts grieving Christians by telling them that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first and those who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That word “caught up” is where the term rapture comes from. The picture is not of believers vanishing while the world carries on. It is of a great welcoming party as the King arrives to dwell with his people forever. Pair that with 1 Corinthians 15 where the trumpet sounds and death is swallowed up in victory. Add Acts 1 where the angels promise that Jesus will return in the same way he ascended. Add Matthew 24 where his coming is as visible as lightning across the sky. The consistent picture is public, glorious, and universal.
And at this point we must emphasise Jesus’ own words: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). This is the great corrective to every viral video claiming to know the date. It is not only unwise to predict the timing of Christ’s return, it is directly disobedient to his teaching. Young people need to hear this clearly.
Help them also to know that Christians differ. Some expect a secret rapture before a tribulation, followed by Christ’s public return later. Others, including the majority in reformed churches, expect one return of Christ at the end. The key is to explain this generously but clearly. We say, “Here is what we teach, here are the other views you might hear, and here is the certainty we all share. Jesus is coming. Be ready.”
Why does this matter. Because social media treats the rapture as a prediction game. Teenagers end up doom scrolling, fearful that tomorrow might be the day. Yet Jesus explicitly forbids date setting. Our calling is not to speculate but to stay faithful, hopeful, and loving until he comes. Show them that the King’s return is not a reason to panic but a reason to press on in joy.
Practical talking points
For a quick chat with teenagers:
“Lots of videos are talking about revival and the rapture. Revival means God wakes sleepy hearts and lifts up Jesus. We pray for that. The rapture is a word Christians use in different ways, but we all agree on this. Jesus will return one day, everyone will see him, and he will make all things new. No one knows the day or the hour, so we do not set dates. We trust him today.”
For parents:
“Your child may have seen videos about the end times this week. To respond, you could read 1 Thessalonians 4 or John 14 as a family. Ask them what they saw and how it made them feel. Reassure them that Christ’s return is certain, his timing is perfect, and his day will not be guessed at on TikTok.”
For leaders:
“Keep an ear open in your groups. Celebrate revival as God blessing ordinary means with extraordinary fruit. Explain our conviction about the one glorious return of Christ. Speak generously about differences, but anchor them in the certainty of his coming. And be clear that no one knows the day or hour.”
A closing word
The internet loves countdown clocks. Jesus loves his church. One day the trumpet will sound and every anxious headline will be forgotten. Until that day our task is beautifully ordinary. Teach the Word. Pray with faith. Love our people. Keep eyes on the King. And when the feed erupts again, as it surely will, let us be the first calm voice they hear and the last faithful presence they remember.
