Most US Pastors Believe Christ Returns Soon
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Roughly 9 in 10 pastors in the United States view current events as signs that Jesus Christ will return soon to Earth, according to a new survey by a significant church research group.
Nashville-based LifeWay Research also found that 97 percent of 1000 polled pastors at evangelical and historically black churches believe that Christ will literally and personally return to Earth.
Most pastors agreed that current events are the ‘birth pains’ that Jesus was referring to when he was asked by his disciples when he would return, the study showed. Question referenced Jesus’ words in Bible chapter Matthew 24.
An overwhelming majority of interviewed church leaders said they saw signs of Jesus’ return. They cited the “rise of false prophets and false teachings” (83 percent), the “love of many believers growing cold” (81 percent), and “traditional morals becoming less accepted” (79 percent).
Pastors also mentioned, “wars and national conflicts” (78 percent), “earthquakes and other natural disasters” (76 percent), and the “number of people abandoning their Christian faith” (75 percent) as signs of Christ’s imminent return. Additionally, they referred to famines (70 percent) and “anti-Semitism toward Jewish people worldwide” (63 percent) as warnings of the last days.
“While Christians prepare to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection [this Easter], many pastors believe they see signs his return may be close,” explained Scott McConnell, executive director LifeWay Research. “These sentiments were expressed in January before the prospect of a global pandemic became known.”
The phone survey of 1,000 pastors was conducted January 24 to February 11 this year, and its sampling error does not exceed about 3.2 percent, LifeWay Research said.
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