Bible prophecy can be seen as intimidating—but for believers, it’s a profound and inspiring reminder of God’s faithfulness. This 5-day plan examines some of the most encouraging promises God has made to every Christian. As you read, you’ll feel renewed gratitude for your confident hope in Christ and grow in your appreciation for how God’s power, kindness, and love are uniquely revealed within the fascinating study of Bible prophecy.
Harvest House Publishers
Day 1
Scriptures: Isaiah 46:10, Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 13:5, Hebrews 10:23, Romans 8:32
Bible prophecy is filled with reminders that we follow a God who has already determined our future. Ultimately, every prophecy is a promise from God. Not only can the Lord tell us what the future holds (He can prophesy), but He is also able to bring it about (He is able to keep His promises). As God says in Isaiah 46:10, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’” (niv).
Have you ever noticed how many of God’s promises are designed to give us hope? Let’s consider some examples.
Hope When We Feel Afraid
In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand” (nasb). When fear fills our hearts, we do not need to be anxious, for we have God’s assurance that He is with us. Notice how firmly God states His promises: “I am with you…I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you, I will also uphold you.”
What God says He will do, He will do.
Hope When We Feel Abandoned
In Hebrews 13:5, God pledges, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Are you feeling distant from God? Do you wonder if He’s not hearing your prayers? Perhaps you feel as though He has deserted you. But when it comes to your relationship with Him, you can’t trust what your emotions tell you. The Bible clearly states that God is always near. Hebrews 10:23 says, “He who promised is faithful.” God will never abandon you. Don’t let your feelings tell you otherwise.
Hope When We Doubt God’s Goodness
Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (nasb). This is a remarkable promise. Here’s a simpler way of saying this: “God has already given us the greatest gift of all—His Son Jesus, who died on the cross to save us. Why, then, would God withhold any lesser gift from us?” If God gave freely to meet our greatest need, then we can be sure He will give freely to meet all our other needs.
That’s just a sampling of the promises in Scripture that are meant to give us hope. The Bible is rich with such promises—a sure indicator that God wants us to be a people filled with hope. Over the next few days, we’ll examine some of the most hopeful prophecies in God’s Word.
Day 2
Scripture: Genesis 3:15
The Hope of a Savior—Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
The very first prophecy in the Bible was given in the Garden of Eden. This promise was spoken immediately after Adam and Eve fell into sin. In the darkest of moments for mankind, God proclaimed the greatest possible hope. In the instant that humanity was separated from God, the Lord gave a prophecy that revealed a plan was already in place to make it possible for people to be brought back to Him.
In Genesis 3:15, God reassured Adam and Eve by telling them that someday, a Savior would come who would crush the enemy under His heel. As they despaired over the consequences of their disobedience, God gave them hope of deliverance. God’s promise was fulfilled when Christ died on the cross and rose again, securing a forever victory that led to Satan’s forever defeat.
The fact that God brought this prophecy to pass should give us hope too. We can rest in the knowledge that God, who is all-sovereign and all-loving, is able to keep every single one of the promises He has made to us.
Day 3
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7
The Hope of a Great Future King and Kingdom—Isaiah 9:6-7
To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.
What bright hope this prophecy offers! Here, Isaiah pens majestic words about a King and kingdom that could never be adequately described. Most likely you’ve experienced the disappointment that comes when it turns out that a person you’ve long admired isn’t all you thought they were. That will never happen with Christ. He is exceedingly more than we can ever imagine. Words cannot capture how infinitely great He is.
In this prophecy, the Lord Jesus Christ is described as a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” As the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ possesses all wisdom and all power, and He is eternal. He will rule with perfect love, perfect judgment, and perfect peace.
In contrast, the kings and rulers of this world are imperfect and incapacitated by sin. Because of their fallen and finite condition, inevitably they make mistakes and disappoint us. As mortal beings, they come and are gone, so they can offer no assurance of what the future holds. The best of what human leaders can offer is but temporary—it won’t last. As a result, people live in a state of instability and uncertainty. For these reasons, the world is left without hope.
Isaiah’s words are filled to overflowing with hope—so much so that every time we read them, our anticipation for the future increases. This prophecy makes us excited about what lies ahead. Whenever we get discouraged about all that is happening around us, a reading of Isaiah 9:6-7 can help us turn our eyes heavenward in hope. This is the King we will serve, and it is in His kingdom that we will live!
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” is a powerful exclamation that affirms the absolute certainty that Jesus will return and will reign.
Day 4
Scriptures: John 14:1-3, John 13:33, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The Hope of Being Taken by Christ to Heaven—John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (nkjv).
Here we come to a prophecy spoken by Jesus Himself. These words were given to comfort the disciples, who were distraught. The Lord had just announced He would soon leave them: “I will be with you only a little longer…Where I am going, you cannot come” (John 13:33 niv). This troubled the disciples. They grieved at the news that the one whom they loved so dearly would soon be gone. They couldn’t imagine going on without Him. Jesus reassured them by saying, “Believe in God, believe also in Me.”
This was a clear affirmation of His deity. Because He was and is God, the hope they knew they could place in the Father could also be placed in Him, the Son. He was calling them to put their hope in Him, for He could be trusted to keep His every promise. If there was anyone they could count on, it was Him.
After telling the disciples that He was leaving to prepare a place for them, Jesus declared, “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (14:3). He promised that He would personally come back to take them to His Father’s house. Jesus speaks here of the rapture of the church, when He will take all believers up to heaven.
Paul describes this incredible event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (nkjv).
Especially noteworthy is what Paul says next: “Comfort one another with these words” (verse 18 nkjv). In the same way that the promise of being taken home by Jesus was meant to comfort the disciples, it is meant to comfort us too. In the times when fear and doubt strike, when everything around us is falling apart, we can look to the promise of the rapture—of being taken home to heaven with Jesus—as a source of hope.
No matter how difficult life gets, we should not let our hearts be troubled. Jesus has promised He is coming to get us, and we will spend eternity in His presence, never to be separated from Him.
John 14:1-3 is a prophecy filled with compassion, comfort…and yes, hope.
Day 5
Scriptures: Revelation 21:3-4, 1 Corinthians 15:54, Revelation 22:4, Revelation 21:5-6
The Hope of Living in God’s Presence—Revelation 21:3-4
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Pain and sorrow are so intertwined in the everyday fabric of our lives that we can’t imagine what life would be like without them. All we’ve ever known is what it’s like to live in fallen, mortal bodies in a world held hostage by sin and darkness.
Yet a day is coming when all that will change. The tears we shed—whether from our eyes or in our hearts—will be gone, never to come back.
God Himself will wipe them away and usher us into the new heaven and new earth, where our new bodies will never again know sorrow.
No more crying, no more pain, no more mourning, no more death. How glorious that will be! Never again will we set our heads on our pillows at night, hearts and minds burdened by anxieties that stay with us into the next morning. No longer will the curse of sin plague us. All these things will be forever banished. And that terrible separator known as death? It will be “swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
The old things will have passed away, and God will make all things new. The best part of all? We will dwell with God Himself. So amazing is this truth that it is stated four ways in the space of one verse (Revelation 21:3):
- “the dwelling place of God is with man”
- “he will dwell with them”
- “they will be his people”
- “God himself will be with them as their God”
In these words, we find the most wonderful repetition in the Bible—repetition that is meant to fill us with hope! No longer will God seem distant or hidden. We will be in His presence. We will “see his face” (Revelation 22:4). We will have direct, unhindered, intimate, and eternal communion with Him. What’s stunning is that this will happen by God’s design. This is what He wants. It’s fellowship with us that gives Him joy. This reveals just how much He loves us.
Revelation 21:3-4 is a prophecy that provides a glimpse of what we can look forward to as we cross the threshold into eternity. Then comes God’s climactic declaration to the apostle John: “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true…It is done!” (verses 5-6). These prophecies are trustworthy and true. They will come to pass. So strong is God’s guarantee that He is literally saying, “This now stands accomplished. It has been completed.” That is how certain we can be about our glorious future.