A new poll released by the Brookings Institute’s Center for Middle East Policy reveals that Evangelicals are waiting with bated breath for the Apocalypse as a result of ongoing conflict in the middle east.
Research conducted by the Brookings Institute's Center for Middle East Policy on Americans' attitudes toward the Middle East and Israel found that 79 percent of Evangelicals say they believe "that the unfolding violence across the Middle East is a sign that the end times are nearer."
The survey, which compiled a national sample of 875 adults and an oversample of 863 self-identified Evangelicals with a margin of error between plus or minus 3 to 4 percent, found that only 43 percent of non-Evangelical Christians believe that terrorism in the Middle East is indicative of the apocalypse.
Interestingly, the number of Christians and Evangelicals who believe that Christ will return in their lifetimes is only 5 and 12 percent respectively. This begs the question, how “near” is this end of times you speak of if so few of you think the part in the end of times when Christ shows up isn’t going to happen? However, not surprisingly, these same folk have some interesting heroes.
When asked to name a "world leader you admire most," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the world leader most commonly listed by Evangelicals. With 16 percent of Evangelical respondents naming Netanyahu, former United States President Ronald Reagan was the second-most listed by Evangelicals with 11 percent.
Sigh. In unrelated news Paul of Tarsus thought the “second coming” would happen in his lifetime. By all accounts, he died some time in the first century CE—a little less than 2000 years ago.