Surely the world has gone crazy! Like me, you’ve probably had that thought more than once the last couple of years. What is going on? You might be surprised how accurately what we are seeing in our world right now has been described by the Bible. Paul spoke to his young spiritual son Timothy about the last days and said things that certainly ring true today. Jesus’ own disciples asked Him what would be the sign of his coming. He also described events and attitudes that we see clearly today. There are other prophetic signs in the Word of God that indicate clearly that we are approaching the end of an age. Time is short. Darkness and light are coming to a head and into a collision. The Bible is a book of prophecy. It stakes its reputation upon the accurate fulfillment of a great number of prophecies.

It is generally accepted that there are between 300 and 350 prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the coming messiah. The dead sea scrolls that have been found date to at least 100 years before the birth of Christ. This removes all doubt that these prophecies of the messiah were in fact written before Jesus was even born. Mathematics professor Peter W. Stoner outlines the mathematical probability of one person alive in the first century fulfilling just eight of the most clear and straightforward messianic prophecies as one in 10 to the power of 17. That is 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000. To give us some visual sense of this reality, consider filling the entire state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars. One single silver dollar has an “x” marked on its back. Drop one blindfolded person off somewhere in the state with only one chance of selecting the correct silver dollar. That is the odds of Jesus fulfilling just eight of the more than 300 prophecies about Him that the New Testament record shows he clearly fulfilled. What kind of book would stake its authenticity upon these kinds of prophecies coming to pass? God’s Book! The Bible passed the test.

This gives me confidence about the accuracy of other prophecies in the Bible, such as those describing what the world would be like at the end of the age. Jesus himself tells us in Matthew 13 that the end of the age is the harvest. Harvest is when all the seeds, good and evil, of God and the devil, will come to maturity. We are seeing evil mature right in front of us. We are also seeing God’s children mature at this time. It is an exciting time to be alive.

We are not struck with fear, but with a great sense of purpose. We were born for such a time as this. If you know Jesus personally, I encourage you to arise with purpose and press into Him like never before. Trust and obey. There are things to do and places to go for God! We are being called to pursue one path with one purpose for His plan. For His glory! He promises His children victory!

If you don’t know Jesus personally or have drifted in your heart from Him, I ask you to humble your heart and call on Jesus’ name. The time is short! We are not promised tomorrow. His arm is outstretched to save all who call upon Him. Now is the time of salvation!

Jason Haskell is pastor of New Creation Church in Craig, Colorado and a missionary to the nations. He can be reached at: pastorjason@ncccraig.com.