A large number of Americans across various religious backgrounds believe we are living in the last days of humanity, a recent study showed. Nearly two in five Americans, including both Christians and the religiously unaffiliated, responded affirmatively when asked if they believe “we are living in the end times,” according to a Pew research study. The study addressed Americans’ views regarding the earth, environmentalism and climate change, but a specific portion addressed views about the end of the world.
Even though a majority of respondents at 58% did not believe we are living in the end times, four in 10, or 39% said they believe we are. The majority of those who believe the end is near were self-professed Christians, 47% of whom believe we are living in the last days. The study further broke down the statistics to determine that 14% of such Christians believe that the end of the world will culminate with the return of Jesus Christ and that the conditions of the world will worsen until then.
Black Protestants (76%) and evangelicals (63%) were the most likely to believe we are living in the end times. Mainline Protestants (31%) and Roman Catholics (27%) were less likely to assert they are living in the last days. These views are also divided along political lines with 45% of Republicans saying we are currently at the end of times as compared to 33% of Democrats. Geography also had an influence with 48% of adults in Southern states saying that we are at the end of times as compared to 37% in the Midwest, 34% in the Northeast, and 31% in the West.
Among those who adhere to a non-Christian religion, nearly three in 10 (29%) said they think the world is wrapping up. A quarter of U.S. adults overall said they believe they we are living at the end of the world but do not hold such specific views about how it will take place, according to the study. The study also found that “most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it,” the researchers said. The survey cited an article in The Journal of Religion and Health which noted a rise in both secular and religious “apocalypticism” attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the great challenges we have in this area is because of the nature of the imminent return of Christ — meaning Jesus could return at any time — essentially every generation from the time of Paul until now has thought it was in the last generation before the return of Christ. Paul wrote 1-2 Thessalonians to believers who were concerned they had missed the return of Christ. Many of the reformers believed the return of Christ would occur during their lifetime. Jonathan Edwards in the early 1700s believed the Great Awakening would lead into the return of Christ. Thus, it is not unique for a large segment of the population to believe Christ could return soon.
However, there are important signs that have occurred in the last 100 years that seem to hint the return of Christ could be on the horizon. First, Israel, erased from the map for thousands of years, has been reestablished as a nation. This is critical as so many of the prophecies of the end times require a national Israel. Second, technology has allowed for the world to “grow smaller”, both in terms of communications and travel, which would allow for the Antichrist to control the world much easier. Finally, the existence of weapons of mass destruction both resemble some of the events in the book of Revelation as well as put a limit on how long the earth will exist in its current format before a nuclear apocalypse could occur. These events lend credence that we may be rapidly approaching the return of Christ.
Biblical Connections: Matthew 24:36 - “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
PRAY: Pray that if the coming of Christ is soon and the Rapture is on the horizon that we will be faithful to witness to as many people as possible in the time that remains.