"Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”" (Romans 4:16-18).
When you read your Bible, it's important to note that you are reading a translation of a book that was originally written in some very different languages. A perfect translation is, ultimately, impossible, as the Biblical languages are not directly equivalent. An example of this is the issue of verb tenses. In English, and indeed in modern Hebrew, there are three tenses: Past, present, and future. These pertain to time. Ancient Hebrew, however, has only two tenses: The Perfect, and the Imperfect. These pertain not to time, but to action. As "A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew" puts it, "In Hebrew thinking, an action is regarded as being either completed or incompleted. Hebrew, therefore, knows of no past, present, or future tenses, but has instead a Perfect and an Imperfect (which, in a context, lend themselves to a variety of shades in meaning)." (Italics original). (1).
This does not seem to be coincidental. Ancient Hebrew, of course, is the language in which God revealed the majority of the Old Testament, including things like His promise to Abraham: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:5). At this time, Isaac, the son of the promise, had not yet been born, and yet, so certain was God's promise to Abraham that He stated it in the Perfect.
According to "Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar", "When used to describe a completed action (either in reality or the mind of the speaker), the Hebrew Perfect may be translated by the English past tense (he studied), present perfect (he has studied), past perfect (he had studied), or future perfect (he will have studied). (...) To state it differently, the Perfect aspect denotes completed action, whether in the past, present, or future." (2).
The use of the Perfect is seen most commonly in prophetic contexts, as the prophet, in a sense, places himself into the future, looking back upon his prophecy as if it has already come to pass. It's interesting to note that although English doesn't follow the same rules, we also have phrases like this. "You're a dead man" is rarely spoken to an actual corpse, but is instead (usually) a metaphor, spoken to someone who is in some kind of trouble as a result of having offended the speaker.
Knowing all of the above should be as relevant to our reading of Scripture as it is to those who translate it. Because certain prophecies are in the Perfect, they are often translated in the past or present tense, leading the less aware readers to erroneously assume the relevant prophecies were fulfilled far earlier than they appear. Isaiah 53, for example.
Isaiah 53 is one of the most powerful prophecies in all of Scripture. When asked to identify who it is speaking about, many modern audiences immediately point to Jesus. Some Jews even initially reject it as an authoritative text because they don't believe the New Testament. However, it is from the Old Testament, 700 years before the Incarnation. Some object to it being Jesus because it is written in present and/or past tense in English translations, but the original Hebrew is, you guessed it, Perfect. It is entirely appropriate, therefore, to render it as past tense, but it is equally appropriate, as we have seen, to render it as future.
This concept truly highlights the glory of God. From the beginning of time, He has had His plans, and has had full control over their fulfillment from day 1. For that reason, He can say what will happen as surely as if it already has. This allowed Him to tell Abraham "I have made you a father of many nations", even before the son of the promise had been conceived. It allowed Isaiah to says things like "He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12), even before Christ entered creation through the womb of the blessed virgin, Mary. And the best part? It allows John to tell us "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13, emphasis mine).
Now, try not to get tripped up by that last point. John's epistle is not written in classical Hebrew, and I do not know if Greek has a similar concept. What I do know is that He wrote in the name of the same God, moved by the same Holy Spirit, preaching the same Messiah. Therefore, since God calls things which are not as if they are, then if you believe in the name of the Son of God, your salvation is assured. It is as true now as it will be on the day you draw your last breath and enter the eternal Kingdom. May God be forever praised, amen!
References
1. Weingreen, J - A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew, Second Edition, OUP USA, March 26th 1963
2. Van Pelt, P - Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar, Third Edition, Zondervan, March 7th 2019