The future

God controls the future

God knows the future

Exodus 3:19–20 ESV

But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

God can reveal the future

Daniel 2:45 ESV

just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

The future is unknown to human beings

Ecclesiastes 8:7 ESV

For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

There is a future hope for believers

It is based on God’s promise

Jeremiah 31:17 ESV

There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.

See also ; ; ;

Future blessings are guaranteed

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ;

Future blessings are superior to present experiences

Philippians 1:21–23 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

See also ; ; ; ;

Key aspects of future hope

Believers will go to heaven

1 Peter 1:4 ESV

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

See also ; ; ; ; ;

Jesus Christ will come again

Acts 1:11 ESV

and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

See also ; ; ; ; ; ;

The dead will rise

1 Corinthians 15:52 ESV

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ;

Final judgment

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

The devil and evil will be destroyed

Isaiah 25:7–8 ESV

And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

See also ; ; ; ; ;

God’s kingdom will be fully established

Revelation 11:15 ESV

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

See also ; ; ;

Believers’ responsibility towards future generations

The twelve stones taken from the bed of the river Jordan is one of several instances where God’s people are told to preserve memorials of present blessings for the sake of future generations.

See also ; ; ; ; ; ;

Proper attitudes towards the future

Looking forwards rather than backwards

Philippians 3:13–14 ESV

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

See also ; ; ;

Having perseverance and faith

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

See also ; ; ; ;

Avoiding occult predictions and false prophecies

Jeremiah 27:9 ESV

So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’

See also ; ; ; ;