The future is forward in time from the present and yet to come. After the publication of Alvin Tofflers Future Shock in 1970, the phenomenon of radical change entered the consciousness of people all over the world. Since the break-up of the family in the 70's, religion is no longer considered the solid Rock of ages that it used to be. People feel that God is either dead or just doesn't want to get involved. During this era of convulsive change and computerized information, institutions are increasingly viewed as incompetent, irrelevant, and illegitimate, and are being attacked, circumvented, revamped, and replaced.
Cynicism is everywhere and the estimation of the future becomes very bleak.
Historians are fond of saying the study of the past can help us to understand the future and if we don't, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. A man of wisdom is interested in facts only so that he can use them in the future. Identifying the potential crises of the future so that they can be avoided is the main function of futuristics. The hope that we have as Christians is in our future heavenly calling. Those who have died in the Lord and gone to Heaven have no hope for the future for they have already realized their greatest aspirations.