Hope Foretold
I. Our hope for the future
Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7

Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it
happens.” Isa 42:9

You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of
the times! Mat 16:3
II. Why we should know and understand God’s prophecy?
A. So we will to be alert for when Jesus comes back 
You know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
3
When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as
4
suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the
dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord
5
comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and
6
night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. I Thes 5:2

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Ps 119:105
B. So we can warn others
I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for
8
me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their
ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. Ezk 33:7
C. So we have objective is proof that there is a supernatural God who speaks to us
Present the case for your idols,” says the Lord. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of
22
Israel. “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let
23
them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. Yes, tell us what will
occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do
24
something that will amaze and frighten us. But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at
all. Those who choose you pollute themselves. Isa 40:21
III. The hope of God’s promisesA. The promises of God are conditionalPromise= a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified

At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your
14
crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sins and restore their land. II Chron 7:13

I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give
12
13
you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me
14
wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and
restore your fortunes. Jer 29:11
B. God’s divine power and nature are not conditional
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God
made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no
excuse for not knowing God. Rom 1:20

I am the LORD, and I do not change. Mal 3:6

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb 13:8
C. Future promises2

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room
in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for
3
you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I
am. Jn 14:1

The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their
17
graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in
18
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other
with these words. I Thes 4:16

God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as
19
we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
Heb 6:18
IV. The prophecies of GodProphecy= a declaring of something to come

Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it
happens.” Isa 42:9

Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7
A. Fulfilled prophecy from the past
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his
5
eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus
Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Eph 1:4

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was
6
whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to
follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. Isa 53:5

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is
right. By his wounds you are healed. I Pet 2:24

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being
saved know it is the very power of God. I Cor 1:18
B. Fulfilled prophecy in our times
I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send
3
their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock.
All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves. Zech 12:2

Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever
been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time
9
Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born. Would I ever bring this nation to the point of
birth and then not deliver it?” asks the LORD. “No! I would never keep this nation from being born,” says
your God. Isa 66:8
C. Prophecies that will be fulfilled in the future
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the
2
sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven
3
like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look,
God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself
4
will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or
crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Rev 22:1
V. The promises and prophecies of God give us hope for the future
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of
18
the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth
disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
Mat 5:17

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the
consequences. Prov 22:3