Judges 7:13 – And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

Judges 7:14 – And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

Judges 7:15 – And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

Hello readers, new blog time today. I want to look at something from Gideon’s life today, found in the book of Judges, when Gideon went to check out the camp of Midian seeking a sign from God that the vast army of Midian was delivered into the hand of him and his 300 men. We’d probably want some assurance if we were in the same position! When Gideon got to the camp of Midian he heard a man talking to another man in the Midian army, and one man said he had had a dream and the other man told him what his dream meant, and it meant that Gideon was going to destroy their army. So today I want to talk about knowing the future. People want to know the future, and in fact it is big business… but there is only one sure prophetic word today, and it is the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

Today, we know the future. Read Revelation and the future is laid out, and not only that, but the entire Bible reveals the future. We have the word of God to know the outcome before it happens. People get all excited at the prospect knowing the future, they use the stars, they use magic, they use this, they use that… in vain though… because the Word of God is the actually the only way to tell the future. Look through the Bible and men of God and the prophets were able to tell what would happen, because they got it from the word of God. God knows the future because he is not bound by time, being God, he is from everlasting to everlasting. If you get your future from anywhere but the Bible, be prepared to be let down, be prepared for disappointment. And in fact the Bible says even if sometimes false prophets “get it right”, don’t follow them, don’t believe them, because God lets it happen to prove our hearts – Deuteronomy 13.

The Bible is a book of prophecy, it is prophetic in all ways. To this world, the nations, to individuals, if you want to know things personally or corporately go to God’s word. Through the Bible you can see places your eyes haven’t beholden yet, you can know things not entered into your mind yet. You can see heaven, you can see hell, you can see the judgement of God, you can see the future of this world, and your personal future. That’s why Jesus said he that hears and does his word will be likened unto a man who built his house upon the rock. And we know that that man’s house upon the rock stood when the storms came. If you make decisions based on the infallible, incorruptible, preserved, eternal word of God you will be making future proof decisions for your life.

We are all prophets when we believe the Lord Jesus Christ. A saved person abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ is a prophet. The gospel is prophetic, God’s word is with power. For the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. I can be prophetic in your life by telling you if you repent and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved. That is prophetic. I can be prophetic by telling you that if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you will go to hell. This is all based on the Bible, and all of us should have prophetic power in people’s lives by being able to hold forth the word of God to them. This is what true prophecy is, it’s not mystic rubbish and endless erroneous lying prognostications that appeal to our lust and our flesh, but true prophecy is the word of God… what the Bible says.

And in this story of Gideon, a simple thought today. These men of Midian knew the future, they knew they were about to be defeated. God showed it to them, and showed it to Gideon. And unsaved and saved people alike have been warned and shown the future. Gideon heard the future and rejoiced. But the men of Midian… what did they do? They didn’t do anything. This lost unsaved world knows the future, but they ignore it, they do not believe it, though it were shown to them by God through his word. God’s word shows to people that they are in trouble with him, yet they do nothing about it. The future is hidden from people of this world, and though it were shown them, they cannot hear it, or receive it… because the things of God are spiritually received and spiritually discerned. You can tell someone not to go to hell, to repent of sin, to get right with God, to obey the Bible … and it fall on deaf ears with no acknowledgement, without it ever finding good soil in the heart. These men of Midian knew what was going to happen, yet it didn’t make a shred of difference.

How sad it is to know the future and yet not do anything about it. The men of Nineveh knew the future, Jonah told them destruction was coming… and they repented and God stopped the coming destruction. Yet men and women today know God’s judgement, they have the knowledge of God, but what do they do with it? They dismiss it, it does nothing in their hearts and minds, it does not change their lives. They dispute and scoff and scorn and dismiss the things of God, they set the gospel, the Bible, God’s word at nought. Luke 23:11 – And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.  They set Jesus at nought, and mocked him, made fun of him… but the Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. These men of Midian did nothing with what they knew. How sad is it when the truth makes no dent in our lives, when we can hear God’s word and keep going right on. What about Balaam, he was so blinded by his sin that he could not see the destroying angel standing in his way, it took his donkey turning aside, who could see what he could not. Many people are so blinded by their vain pursuits of life, they do not see the future, the future judgement. Did you know that Belshazzar saw writing on the wall, he saw the hand, he read the writing, he got told what it meant… yet he did not repent, yet he went back to partying. The same night he was slain.

These men of Midian knew the future, it was revealed by God to them. God had let Gideon go down to hear the men of Midian talking to assure Gideon that the battle was the Lord’s and that through God he and his small army would have the seemingly impossible victory. Upon hearing this, Gideon was strengthened, he worshipped God, he rejoiced… it goes to show how the same God’s word can mean something so different depending upon the heart of the hearer, and how it can get such a different reaction from different people. To some people it is life, but to many people it is death. In fact in 2 Corinthians 2:16 the Bible says … To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. The future was certain, Gideon’s army were going to win, God’s word had said so, it strengthened Gideon, it gave him assurance, and we can be greatly strengthened by knowing the future. By knowing that Jesus Christ is God, that he is seated in heaven, that he is returning for us who believe, that we will rule and reign with him, that Satan is defeated and one day Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Today, the Bible with a still, small voice, pleads with sinners to repent, to turn from their wicked way, to heed the instruction of the Father. But who will hear?

It’s not people do not and cannot know the future, it’s what they do with it. But additionally, many people are willingly ignorant, they do not choose to know the truth, they do not seek it out, they are happy with their lives. They don’t seek out God’s word, but rather because of their hard hearts, they seek something else. They walk according to the course of this world, a world of whom the prince is Satan. And many people choose not to go to God’s word for the future, but through other mediums, and they believe a lie, they believe a future that doesn’t exist. They have a vain confidence, they have an assurance with no foundation. It’s so important to know, as Paul said to Timothy, to know whereof you affirm, to prove what you know, to prove what is truth, to be grounded in God’s word, which is truth… but instead they choose a lie over truth, because ultimately they are of the devil, and Jesus said there is no truth in Satan, in fact he is the father of lies. He lies to his own, he doesn’t want you to know the truth, he doesn’t tell you who he really is, and what his end is and those who follow him. The devil is in the blinding business, he takes people captive at his will, he casts many snares, he snatches away the seed of the word of God, he resists, he opposes… because although we can and should know, Satan is at work to destroy us, to hide it from this lost, dark world. The Bible says in 1 John 5:13 – These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. We can and should know many things, including the future. In Revelation 1:19 John was told by Jesus Christ… Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter… The Bible not only deals with past, and present, but also with the future. We can know the future by reading it, and by heeding it. You can know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Blog Blog Christian Christianity Faith Future God Gospel Heaven Hell Jesus Judgement Lord