There has been an growing interest in the Bible among Americans in 2024, the Wallstreet Journal (WSJ) reports.
As of the end of October, Bible sales are up 22% over the same time last year, this compares to only a 1% increase in overall book sales during the same period.
According to data supplied by the WSJ, 9.7 million Bibles were purchased in America in 2019. This climbed to 14.2 million in 2023 and with two months of sales not included, over 13.7 million Bibles were purchased so far in 2024, CBN reports.
The renewed interest is being driven by two factors, people buying a Bible for the first time and the introduction of new versions. What is particularly curious is that it seems that many people purchasing their first Bible are young people, Gen Z.
So what is behind this increased interest in the Bible?
There could be several factors. Certainly, COVID and the recent threats of nuclear war coming from Russia are causing uncertainty.
“People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren,” said Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, in an interview with WSJ. “It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles…and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be OK.”
A second factor driving these sales is the prophetic nature of the Bible itself. According to Bible.org, nearly a quarter of the Bible, 24%, is prophetic. There are about 1,000 prophecies in the Bible and only about 500 of them have been fulfilled, meaning that they are yet to come to pass as they spoke of events that would take place in the end times.
This includes prophecies warning of nuclear war:
Asteroids:
And earthquakes:
We need to read these prophecies with the understanding that in some instances, the prophets had no idea what they were seeing, and described the events in ways people of their day would understand them.
Keeping with that end times theme, last year Podcaster Joe Rogan read all of Revelation chapter 13 to his 18+ million plus YouTube followers as part of a discussion on end times prophecy.
Thirdly, despite attempts to stifle Christian voices in the market place and public square by those on the left, we have seen celebrities rising up from unexpected places and declaring faith in Christ and interest in the Bible, such as Russell Brand who has 6.8 million YouTube followers and atheist Ayaan Hirsi.
Cely Vazquez, a former contestant on Love Island, also recently purchased a Bible and posted a video about it on TikTok.
“I’ve had Bibles that my mom gave me, but I felt I needed my own to start my own journey, that it symbolized I was starting a walk with God,” Vazquez told her 1.1 million followers.
