I just received a great question from a curious reader: Is it possible that different beliefs from different religions and cultures can all be right? To answer that question, we have to determine a standard for “right”, because we would need something objective to compare the beliefs with.

With no apologies, I state categorically that I am a born again Christian who defaults to the Bible as his standard. But before any non-Christians stop reading, just bear with me for a few paragraphs. Did you know that the Old Testament included 300 different, and very specific prophecies concerning the life of Jesus—all of which were fulfilled in His lifetime? A brilliant man named Chuck Missler set out to determine statistically what would be the probability of all 300 of these predictions randomly finding fulfillment in the life of one individual. When he does all the math, the result is staggering: You would have a better chance of finding a specific atom in all the atoms of the universe than to have all of these prophecies just happen to come together in the life of any one individual. (I encourage everyone to get Missler’s Prophecy 101 DVD from Amazon.) With that kind of track record, I think it is only logical to make the Bible the standard.

But what about other cultures and faiths? I believe they may have gotten some form of revelation about future events, but not with the specificity or proven accuracy of the Bible. Nonetheless, their insights, when taken in light of Bible prophecy, can add some color to the description of events just on our horizon. For example, the Book of Revelation foretells the time of great worldwide disasters: massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and periods of darkness when Earth will not receive the light of the sun. Pretty scary stuff, and many believe this is a description of the aftermath of a global nuclear conflict. They could be right, but Native American and ancient Sumerian legends talk of periodic infiltration into our solar system of a massive object. Some call it Nibiru; some call it Nemesis. This object could be our sun’s twin that failed to ignite. Legend tells us it has up to five planets orbiting it. Every 3600 years or so, its orbit brings it close to the sun. Interestingly enough, a large body passing into the inner solar system could produce every one of the events in Revelation. In this regard, the legends of other cultures support the Revelation prophecies … and both could well be speaking of a time in the not-too-distant future.

The key thing to remember is that I’m talking about prophecy. When it comes to belief systems, I am a Christian. Jesus said there is no other way to the Father but through Him. I believe what Jesus said. Of all the religions in the world, only Judeo-Christianity tells of God reaching down to redeem us. Other religions involve humanity becoming or doing something to be acceptable to God.

Despite my firm Christian beliefs, I must say that I was struck by the predictions of other cultures that this is the general timeframe for unprecedented upheaval in the world. Islamic, Hopi, Mayan, and several Eastern religions point to this very generation as the one to see such cataclysmic events … just as the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament declare this generation to be significant. When researching my book series, I was fascinated that so many cultures and beliefs pointed to this general timeframe, just as the Bible has.

So, to answer the original question, it’s not a matter of right or wrong, it is a matter of consensus. What is the likelihood that these other cultures would point to the same timeframe and the same type of events as those predicted by the Bible? My answer is that these revelations are too consistent to be random. Something is up!