Do You Know the Future?

Isaiah 41:22,23,26

“Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.

Isaiah 42:9

See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”

Do you know the future?

We can make certain predictions about the future based on what we know from the past and the present. And we often dramatically alter how we act based on the little knowledge of the future we have. We even put so much confidence in our own predictions we often drive ourselves toward uncontrolled despair or callous unconcern. Above all, we unconsciously pretend we can do what God alone can do––know the future.

Only God knows the future. He proved his unending knowledge of future events with prophecy after prophecy concerning his Son. In the beginning, he promised a descendent of Eve to crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Through the prophet Isaiah, he promised a son born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), a Messiah who would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). These prophecies and more—given hundreds if not thousands of years before Jesus came—were fulfilled when Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, was punished in our place for our peace, crushed the serpent’s head, and brought us righteousness and salvation.

Only God knows the future. He knows not only what will happen in the world but in your life as well. He doesn’t reveal much about what will happen ahead of time. But the God of all who knows all says this, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. … 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:22,29-31).

How can we prepared for an uncertain future? From our perspective, the future is always uncertain. Yet, though he doesn’t reveal everything, God does reveal this about our future, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).

We don’t know everything from now to the end of the future. But we do know the end.

It’s based on the past. “Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). 

It’s based on the present. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).

 It's based on his promises for the future. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).

 God knows the future. He knows our path on earth to heaven might look different from the last generation’s. He knows each of our journeys there might come through unique circumstances. But in him, we see not only the one who knows the future, but controls it for our good. He will finally bring us through the same unchanging Word and sacraments to the same paradise with him.