This needs to be rightly navigated or we'll end up off course.
Why The Future is Mentioned:
As Christians our behaviour and expectations in the present, are inspired by and informed by our expectation for the future.
Hearing preaching about what will happen at the second coming, based on the finished work of the cross, inspires us and informs us about the ways Christ is working with us in the present.
We preach the second coming in order to reinforce what we preach about the present - but that doesn't mean the second coming should happen straightaway nor does it mean that the things Christ is doing in the present shall always be instead of having an end.
Same With the Old Testament:
Similarly, Old Testament prophecy sometimes mentions eternal themes and future events, along with mentioning things which were to have their specific fulfilment much sooner.
And that does not mean that the eternal themes or future events were limited only to their near future - nor does it mean the specific things which were to happen for them sooner haven't happened yet or should yet happen in future.
In Bible-prophecy we find mentioned things past, present, near, far, future, continuous, conditional, certain, temporary and eternal.
These themes are sometimes mentioned together for an intended effect. But that does not mean that their actual fulfilment in history is to be understood with haphazard overlapping.
We shouldn't randomly place something into the future if the text indicates that it was to have happened sooner. Neither can we limit something to the past if it was a more timeless theme mentioned in the context only for effect.
Past is past, present is present and future is future. They do have an effect on the other, but each happens in its own time not randomly.
We shouldn't blur the edges between them where the edge is meant to be distinct. But neither should we create an edge where none was intended.
Can you imagine the confusion if fulfilled prophecy is mistaken for unfulfilled; or if a still-relevant theme in prophecy, or a future event in prophecy is mistakenly relegated exclusively to the past!
One common mistake this has led to is the mistaken idea that the nations must again in future travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. But no - all such prophecies about the restoration of Mosaic worship, were fulfilled while Moses' Law still stood.
The Messianic verses intermingled in such prophecies were also fulfilled in the historical context described by the rest of the prophecy - not far in our future. Jesus fulfilled it.
How to Rightly Navigate Bible-Prophecy:
So how can we understand whether a particular theme mentioned in a Bible-prophecy is present, future or already past?
Where possible we should let the text of the prophecy itself inform us; and we also have the rest of inspired Scripture to guide us.
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