To Encourage You

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes . . .  he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

One of the things Jesus promised the apostles with His promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit would tell them about the future.  In fact, He would tell them everything they needed to know in order to live with wisdom in this present age.  So why does this matter?  Why is it so important that they – and we, as a result of the things that they wrote – know the future?

It’s no mystery that most people are concerned about the future.  It is the unknown things in the future that are the source of so much anxiety for so many in the world today. This reaches to the highest levels of society and occurs in every age.   In one well-known example in the Bible, King Saul, terrified that His life was in danger, went to a medium to try to ease his anxiety.  As a much more recent example, you can probably recall that Nancy Reagan, after the assassination attempt on her husband, hired a fortune teller in an attempt to know what the future held.  There is lots of interest in this type of thing, with mediums an ever-increasing element on TV shows today.  Then there’s the daily horoscope that appears in many of the nation’s newspapers.  So many people are concerned about the future. 

But where does one go to really know what’s coming?  Well, the Bible is very clear that there is only One who absolutely knows the future.  The Lord has proclaimed this with these words: “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9-10). 

So, do you really want to know the future? Then there’s only one place to go – the Bible.  Knowing what it says about what’s coming is important to us in so many ways.  It helps us prepare for the future.  We know what’s to be expected for those who love Christ.  He has warned us about such things as persecution and suffering, but along with that, He has promised us that in the future He would never leave us or forsake us, come what may.  He has told us about the certainty of death, but along with that He’s told us so much about what comes after death.  For those who love and follow Him He has promised that He’s preparing a place for them, and that He’s coming again to receive us unto Himself, so that where He is, there we might be also (John 14).  Because of this, He’s assured us that we should not be troubled. We shouldn’t worry.  He’s with us now and He’ll be with us then.  But for those who reject Him, He has warned us of a coming judgment and the lake of fire. 

You see, only He really knows these things and He’s told us absolutely everything we need to know about the future, all as a great help for us as we live our lives in the present.  Yes, we can know about the future and there are things that we absolutely should know, and because of this God has told us. 

So, where are you looking for your information about the days to come.  God has made it clear if it’s any place other than Him, we’re looking in the wrong place.  No one, absolutely no one, but God knows what’s coming, and the wise ones of this age are looking to Him and only Him for this source of truth.