Setting up the Future

I have plans in my campaign world that have been in the works for years. I’m a little tired of the lack of progress, so it’s time to start setting up the future. How? Well, the players in my world have a tendency to use fortune tellers, but the fortune tellers have relatively limited range - only a few weeks. So I need to use a different form of prophesy. Those street preachers - you know, the ones who keep saying it’s the end of the world - well, they’re going to start saying the end of the world is near, but they are all going to start saying the same crazy story. No one will believe it, but the various crazy gods who feed these crazy preachers are actually telling the truth. This truth is so many steps away that no one can conceive it. Truth be told, even if they do believe it, it will likely be two or more years before it really gets going. None of my players remember things like that until it’s too late. So even if I give them answers, they won’t understand the questions until the prophesy has been fulfilled. This type of set up takes a while. Not everyone knows the direction their world is going a few years out, but even if you plans don’t come through, then the crazy guy in the street really is just a crazy guy and not a true prophet - that’s easy enough to believe. But when it does happen a couple of years later, someone will look back and go, “I can’t believe it. You told us this was going to happen years ago.” Then you can smile and nod, basking in the glory of your own brilliance.