Many people enjoy studying numbers and statistics, so as we begin a new year, it is fascinating to look back at all the numbers and statistics from the previous one. Here are a few interesting numbers from 2011:

“The numbers for 2011 are stacking up. It’s been an interesting and sobering year. $1.3 billion: Ticket sales of the top-grossing film of 2011, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2." 10: Percentage of all status updates in English that mentioned Osama Bin Laden's death on May 1, the day the news broke, making it number 1 on Facebook's list of Top 10 Global Topics of 2011. 17 million: Number of followers Lady Gaga has on Twitter, making her the site's most followed. 379,000: Copies of "Steve Jobs," by Walter Isaacson, sold during its first week, according to BookScan. Amazon.com recently announced it is the bookseller's top-selling book of 2011. 115: Age of Bessie Cooper, of Monroe, Ga., the oldest person in the world. 445: Number of U.S. military deaths in 2011 (to date).” [1]

Parade Magazine tosses a few numbers at us from 2011 as well.

“280,000 – New jobs needed each month for five years to get us back to pre-recession levels (Source: Economic Policy Institute). 500,000 – visitors to the 9/11 Memorial in the first two months (Source: National September 11 Memorial & Museum). 1 trillion – Student loan debt is estimated to be between $865 billion and $1 trillion and has now surpassed credit card debt. 4,347 – Number of days Osama bin Laden was on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list before being killed on May 1. 400 – new words added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in 2011, including cyber-bullying, jeggings, mankini, retweet, sexting and woot. Two-hundred words (like cassette player and video jockey) were removed.” [2]

One number many want to know is the exact year in which the world will end. Some believe it will happen this year ... 2012. Just when will Christ return? The Bible contains many numbers and prophecies, but does it tell us the exact date for Jesus’ return and the destruction of our planet?

The Bible says, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:32, 33).

While we cannot know the exact day and hour of Christ’s return, we certainly can know from the signs in our world that it is near. Are you ready for Jesus to come? You can learn more about Christ’s coming and the end of the world by attending one of our prophecy seminars listed on this website.

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[1] http://abcnews.go.com/US/Year_In_Review/2011-numbers/story?id=15163378#.Tu9viPI8fSg

[2] http://www.parade.com/news/what-a-year/featured/2011-By-the-Numbers.html