Users of Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, bet more than half a million dollars on the possibility that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur by the end of 2025, representing an opportunity for speculative investment.

Polymarket allows users to bet on the outcome of future events, turning everything from presidential elections to natural disasters into speculative assets. In the case of the Second Coming, only about 3% of participants on Polymarket believe it will occur by the end of 2025.

Both Christian and Islamic traditions include the expectation of the return of Jesus. According to the Bible, after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus remained on Earth for a while and then ascended to heaven, leaving room for a second coming that is yet to follow.

The betting is based on the so-called "Millennial Day Theory," which suggests that Christ will return 6,000 years after the creation of humanity and usher in a thousand years of peace. This theory proposes that each day in creation symbolizes one millennium of history, and "Saturday" would represent a period of divine peace and harmony.

In the world of cryptocurrencies and betting, no topic seems to be off-limits. According to the rules of Polymarket, the bet will be resolved by a "consensus of reliable sources." It is unclear whether this consensus will be determined by theologians, international media, scientific institutions, or a combination of social and news criteria. Many participants in these bets may be more interested in arbitraging probabilities than in the religious dimension of the event.

On Polymarket, users buy "shares" in favor of or against events, with the price reflecting the real-time consensus of probability based on market interaction. The value of each share for the "yes" option regarding the Second Coming is only three cents, reflecting the low probability assigned to this event.

If the return of the Messiah is not confirmed in 2025, the bettors who opted for "no" will share approximately $136,000 of the total pot. Only around $4,200 will remain with those who backed the affirmative that Jesus Christ will return in 2025.

The ability to assign value to abstract or metaphysical events and to commercialize collective opinions about their probability opens questions about the limits of the market. If the Second Coming occurred and was verifiable by Polymarket standards, the payment of rewards would be almost anecdotal compared to the magnitude of the event. It is unclear whether, in the hypothetical scenario of the Second Coming, the markets would continue operating or if those who collected the prize would do so in "heavenly currencies."

Produced with the assistance of a news-analysis system.