Hope that is seen is an oxymoron. As Paul says, "What a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" In other words, a man cannot hope for that which he already has in his possession. For example, if we were already in heaven we could not hope for it any longer. If we had already entered into the full fruition of that happy place, it would not just be pointless to hope for it, but it would be impossible to hope for it. We can and do hope for heaven now because we do not have perfect knowledge that it will be ours some day. If we had perfect knowledge that it would be ours, then we could not hope for it. We could only look forward to it. We might wish or desire that we were already there, but we could not hope that it would ultimately be ours.
    Many people claim to "know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are saved," by which they mean they know heaven will be their home. But in spite of their bold presumption, they cannot know beyond doubt but what they are deceived in the matter just as many others have been (See Matt. 7:22-23). If others have been thoroughly convinced that they were children of God and yet were wrong, how can these know beyond a doubt that they are not likewise deceived? The truth is, they cannot.
    It has been my observation that those same people who speak with absolute certainty about their salvation also speak disparagingly or even contemptuously of hope. But those like the apostle Paul, who know something of their inner corruption by nature, cannot adopt the language of the self-righteous, but must speak of the hereafter in terms of hope. In more than one place the Scriptures speak of Christ as the hope of His people (See Jer. 17:13, Col. 1:27 & I Tim. 1:1). Therefore those who disparage hope disparage Christ. They also disparage faith, for "faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Heb. 11:1).
    I have even heard people say that if all they had was a hope of heaven they would be ashamed. But the apostle Paul shows hope to be a product of Christian experience, and says, "Hope maketh not ashamed" (Romans 5:4-5). He lived in hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2) and I am certain he was not ashamed of it. Those who speak slightingly of hope are the ones who should be ashamed.