The Future (CPrH)

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Some, but not all, faiths make predictions for the future. Sometimes they're grim, such as the Norse belief in Ragnarok, the destruction of the gods and man. They could also be happy and cheerful... though this isn't usually the case in a world involving great heroes.
The DM, when deciding whether or not to "predict the future" for his world, should try to figure out what this choice will do to the attitudes of his intelligent races.
A future which is bleak and gloomy will sometimes make the campaign bleak and gloomy. The characters can hope for success and glory in the short-term, but certain death awaits them, and they can't count on the world being there "when they get back." This sort of approach does make for the greatest of heroism, though. It's the greatest hero who strives on knowing that ultimately he must fail, yet fights for his goals anyway.
A future which is happy and bright will sometimes make the campaign a little more goofy and irresponsible. Characters, believing that whatever their mistake, they'll be preserved or rewarded, may behave in a foolish manner. Acts of bravery are often nothing of the sort; they're just short-term sacrifices in anticipation of a long-term reward. This is not to say that such a campaign can't be rewarding... it's just harder for it to be serious.
A future which is neither doomed nor excessively happy will tend to have less of an effect on the player-characters. For instance, if holy writings say that a thousand years in the future, the gods will "start over" and reshape the world, populating it with the survivors from the last world and the best spirits in the halls of the afterlife, that's all very interesting... but its effects on the current campaign are minimal. On the other hand, if this reshaping is supposed to take place in only ten years, or one, it becomes very interesting to the PCs. They'll work very hard to make sure that they're either among the survivors from this world, or among the brighter spirits of the afterlife, so they can experience the new world.
Of course, the DM doesn't have to specify future events for his campaign. It's often better if he doesn't, because it makes for more uncertainty in the minds of the PCs.