The demographic situation in Europe—particularly Western Europe—should cause us to consider how close we could be to the fulfillment of key end-time prophecies.
by Paul Kieffer and Ewin Barnett
The history of ancient Israel is a reminder of how important demographics can be. After living several generations in the land of Goshen in Egypt, the Israelites had multiplied to the point where they were viewed as a potential internal threat to Egypt's security. We read of Pharaoh's concerns in Exodus 1:9-10: "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and...in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land."
As the verses that follow show, this was the main reason for the enslavement of the Israelites. In ignorance of the dynamics of demographics, some have wondered how a group of some 70 Israelites could have become a nation numbering possibly 2 to 3 million people within a span of just over 200 years. However, a look at European history shows just how quickly population growth takes place when conditions are favorable.
Consider that 300 years ago there were an estimated 120 million people living in Europe. The next 200 years witnessed a veritable population explosion in the region. The industrial revolution with mechanization of farming, food production, improved hygiene and medical practice contributed to a remarkable reduction in infant and child mortality. By 1914 Europe's population had increased to 450 million (even though about 60 million had moved to other nations during that period). From 1780 to 1910 Germany's population increased by 205 percent, from 21 million to approximately 64 million. Population growth in England and Wales was even faster. The 8 million people living in this region in 1780 had become 40 million by 1910, an increase of 400 percent (source: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung).
