end times

As entertaining as those stories are, apocalyptic times are rather less entertaining to live through. None of us wants to be an extra in a reboot of “Outbreak” or “Contagion,” and yet that’s where we seem to be right now.

Rather than add to our panic, there’s something about the strange familiarity of this time that should help us endure and survive it. We know this story. We’ve played it out a hundred times in books and films. And just as children learn through earnest play, we should know from those tellings what’s needed to get through this.

A new Lifeway Research Center survey found that eight in ten pastors believe the current events in the world are a sign of the end times.

In an interview with My Faith Votes, Dr. David Jeremiah discusses the impact of COVID-19 on his life, his church and on people around the world.

Is the coronavirus pandemic a sign of the End Times?

What might God be telling us?

How should Christians react to the virus’ rapid spread and the worldwide economic crisis?

Here are what five prominent Christian leaders in recent weeks have said about the correlation between the coronavirus, the End Times and God’s Word.

Photo courtesy: Micah Chiang/Creative Commons, image cropped and resized

A recent study found that some 44 percent of participants believe the coronavirus is either a wake-up call from God or a sign of His judgment.

Gordon Brown, a former Prime Minister to the U.K., is calling for a temporary global government to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

While many of his colleagues seem sure that the COVID-19 pandemic is a sign of the end times, Pastor David Jeremiah is not ready to commit to that idea. In his sermon on Sunday, Jeremiah argued that while he cannot say for certain if the outbreak is or is not a warning sign of the second coming, he does think the pandemic does not perfectly match up with biblical prophecy and, therefore, is "probably" not a sign of Jesus' return.

 If the coronavirus pandemic is not the end of the world, is it nonetheless the judgment of God on the world?

Biblical judgments are preceded by prophetic warnings and they are sent in response to specific sins. Well, I am not aware of any prophetic warnings before the coronavirus pandemic started in China or particular sins that produced it.

There is a strain of apocalyptic doom in all of Christianity. Both Old and New Testaments encourage readers to pay attention to the world around them and to be alert for signs of divine activity, especially for the time of God’s coming judgment. The Apostle Paul warned that “the Lord will come like a thief in the night” and that Christians must be “alert and sober.” While expressly forbidding his disciples to wait on the end times, Jesus, in his great eschatological discourse in the Gospel of Mark, told his disciples: “Be on guard. Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”

According to a new LifeWay Research survey, most pastors believe Christians cannot speed up the second coming of Christ.