Can We Know the
Future?
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1
Let us pray together:
Our Lord and our God,
At all times, men have tried everything to know beforehand what the future might hold for
them.
Is Your Word trustworthy when it foretells events of the future?
Please enlighten us during our study, we pray in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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Isaiah 45:11
Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his
Maker:
«Ask Me of things to come.»
To know the future, dream of many people, pretension of many charlatans...
Is it even possible to probe the future, so as to get precise and trustworthy information?
Is there an infallible source of predictions?
With all our modern technology, we can hardly anticipate even the exact temperature of the
following day!
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Isaiah 41:22-24
Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; let
them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the
latter end of them; or declare to us things to come.
Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; yes, do
good or do evil, that we may be dismayed and see it together.
Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing; he who chooses you is an abomination.
At all times, fakes and false prophets have claimed to have the power to
foretell the future...
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Isaiah 47:13,14
You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; let
now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you
from these things that shall come upon you.
Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them.
Just as today, astrologers in the prophet Isaiah's time predicted the future in
a hit-or-miss manner, often mistaken because their predictions were about distant times.
Their sources of information did not seem to be very reliable...
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Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a
day may bring forth.
We must admit: without «external» inspiration, almighty and omniscient, man
cannot predict the future with consistent accuracy, especially centuries in advance!
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Isaiah 44:6,7
Thus says the Lord (...):
«Who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I
appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show
these to them.»
Isaiah 46:9,10
I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end
from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done.
Only God has complete knowledge of the future.
We will see in the next lessons that events to come appear to Him as in an open book.
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Isaiah 8:19
And when they say to you,
«Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter»,
should not a people seek their God?
It is dangerous to consult sources other than God, when we desire to know the
future.
But besides these dangers, we must understand that God is the only reliable source for
prophetic revelations.
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Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His
secret to His servants the prophets.
Since only God has complete knowledge of the future, we can be delighted that
He is willing to communicate a part of this knowledge to us through His prophets!
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Daniel 2:27,28
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said,
«The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians,
and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.»
The mysterious dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, described in the book of Daniel,
will be the subject of a future lesson.
We will also study many other prophecies from this book, which holds more than one
surprise...
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2 Peter 1:19
We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you
do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place.
As far back as the apostles' times, a great number of prophecies were fulfilled
with such accuracy that many people quickly understood the importance of studying the
Scriptures more seriously in order to heed the warnings God gives to mankind.
Indeed the Lord knows that the future holds a lot of surprises for those who are not
prepared.
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Deuteronomy 28:63-65
And you shall be plucked from off the land which you go
to possess.
Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other,
and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood
and stone.
And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a
resting place.
For example, let us look at this amazing prediction concerning the Jewish
nation: it would have been difficult to better describe what they were going to experience
in the course of history.
Let's see the following verse.
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Deuteronomy 28:37
And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a
byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
The history of the Jewish Diaspora (the dispersion of the Jewish people
throughout the world) confirms the accuracy of this prophecy.
Just think of the persecution of the Jews during World War II, among other events.
Still today, we admit with shame that few can lay claim to never having made fun of Jews,
at least once in their lifetime.
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Luke 21:24
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led
away captive into all nations.
And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles.
This prediction from Christ confirmed the preceding prophecies concerning the
Jewish nation, but it further described the future of Jerusalem, a city which nations have
trampled underfoot.
First of all, Romans, then Greeks, Arabs, even Christians have seized it more than once,
shedding an unending flow of blood in its streets...
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Matthew 24:2
Jesus said to [His disciples],
«Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left
here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.»
The destruction of Jerusalem's temple, in A.D. 70, happened in accordance with
Christ's prophecy.
After having burned down the temple, the Romans tried to recover the gold that was
covering the walls, which had become trapped between the building's stones under the
effect of heat.
To do so, each stone was systematically dismantled, just as Christ foretold.
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Joshua 21:45
Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had
spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Prophecies do not only carry messages of destruction.
The study of Bible prophecy does not seek to satisfy our curiosity or to excite our
imagination: it aims especially to develop our faith and to maintain our hope.
Our next lesson will clearly demonstrate this.
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Habakkuk 2:2,3
Then the Lord answered me and said:
«Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not
lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.»
The prophecy has been given «that he may run who reads it», and not to
mystify us endlessly.
Biblical prophecies have always been fulfilled until now: what do the Scriptures predict
for tomorrow?
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Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new
things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.
We are now going to look into the amazing world of Bible prophecy, which will
become for each one of us an inexhaustible source of hope.
May God guide us during these lessons!
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Let us pray:
Almighty God,
How can we thank You for this message You give us through Your holy book, the Bible.
We have only begun to discover its precious treasures, and we know that there are even
more awaiting us.
Please stay with us and guide us by the assistance of Your Spirit. In Jesus Christ we
pray.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
Screen 1: Picture collection «ClickArt 65,000» by Broderbund,
CD #4, NATOT668.JPG. Screen 2: The Plain Truth magazine
(Unknown date), Worldwide Church of God, Front cover. Screen 3: Photo by
Betty Blue/Enrique Fuentealba. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine (November 1993), Pacific
Press Publishing Association, p.2. Screen 4: WILLIAMS, Gilbert.
«Dreamweaver», Picture #IMA5213 (http://www.lazaris.com/isisweb/magwfull.htm).
Screen 5: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD»,
Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM015.BMP. Screen 6: JUSTINEN, Lars. In:
«Questionnaire Adulte de l'Ecole du Sabbat», Pacific Press Publishing Association, Third
Quarter, 1999, front cover. Screen 7: STEEL, John. In: «The Triumph of
God's Love, volume 2» (WHITE, Ellen G.), Pacific Press Publishing Association and Review
and Herald Publishing Association, 1950, p.483. Screen 8: MICHEL-ANGE.
«Isaiah», Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome. In: «Great Bible Stories and Master
Paintings» (RACHLEFF, Owen S.), New York, Abradale Press Publishers, p.208.
Screen 9: STEEL, John. In: «Prophecy Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1989,
Daniel lesson #1 («Introduction to the Book of Daniel»), p.1. Screen 10: Photo
by P. BLEECKX. In: «Le Moniteur», Pacific Press Publishing Association, First Quarter,
1999, front cover. Screen 11: BOWER, Maurice. In: «The Living Bible
Encyclopedia in Story and Pictures, volume 3», New York, H.S. Stuttman Co. Inc., 1968,
p.336-c. Screen 12: «World War II, Auschwitz». In: «Collier's
Encyclopedia Deluxe 1998», Sierra Home. Screen 13: LAUNE, Paul. In:
«The Living Bible Encyclopedia in Story and Pictures, volume 7», New York, H.S. Stuttman
Co. Inc., 1968, p.912-a. Screen 14: STEEL, John. In: «God Cares, vol.2»
(MAXWELL, C. Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985, p.29. Screen 15:
SCHLAIKJER, Jes. In: «Votre Bible et Vous» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press
Publishing Association, p.193. Screen 16: AYRES, Robert. In: «La
Sentinelle» magazine (September 1991), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.8.
Screen 17: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD»,
Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM229.BMP. Screen 18: Photo in: «El
Centinela» (January 1993), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.10.
Any copyrighted images not bearing a statement of permission, are used
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The test of Lesson 1 is waiting for you!