The Coming Kingdom
The Kingdom of God to Come in the New Heavens and New Earth
Every human story is shaped by where we believe the story is headed.
If the future is uncertain, we can live with anxiety.
If the future is bleak, we can live with fear.
But if the future holds promises of good things to come, then it changes how we live right now.
Today, we’re looking at the future of God’s kingdom. I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t depict an escape from earth, but rather the renewal of it. The Bible doesn’t tell us that our souls will be floating away on clouds in the sky while angels play sweet hymns on their harps—but it does promise that heaven and earth will finally be made one.
Prefer listening? This series is also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Last week, we looked at what the Bible says about living in the already-and-not-yet kingdom. We talked about the tension of being citizens of God’s kingdom while we wait for his second coming.
Today, we’re wrapping up this series by looking towards the day when the King will return, and heaven and earth will finally be one.
Throughout both the Old and New Testament there are glimpses of what a fully restored world would look like. The first mention of the new heavens and new earth can be seen in Isaiah 65:17:
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”
Isaiah is the first explicit place in Scripture where the promise of a “new heavens and a new earth” is named outright, marking a turning point in the biblical story. Writing in the aftermath of judgment and exile, Isaiah presents this vision not as political recovery, but as God’s ultimate act of renewal—nothing less than cosmic re-creation. The promise is reinforced again in Isaiah 66:22, making clear that this is not a passing metaphor but a central hope: God intends not simply to fix what is broken, but to make all things new.
Isaiah’s language is picked up again in Revelation, starting in Revelation 21:1.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
Revelations 21:1–5
In this vision, what John sees isn’t heaven replacing earth, but heaven coming down to earth.
This is crucial. In his second coming, Jesus will return to bring his rule and reign down to earth.
The story of Scripture doesn’t end with God abandoning creation. It ends with God returning to the imagery from the Garden of Eden as He comes back to dwell with His people in a garden-like city.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.”
This has always been the goal—from Eden, to the tabernacle, to the temple, to Jesus in the flesh, to the Spirit in believers, and finally—to God’s full presence with His people forever.
God’s plan for the fully consummated kingdom is for everything to be made new under His reign. This fully redeemed world will no longer leave any evidence of evil and pain. Everyone and everything will exist in perfect union.
Over the last few decades, within the evangelical movement, so much emphasis has been placed on heaven. So many gospel presentations have encouraged people to repent of their sins so they can be saved and go to heaven. The goal in these scenarios is to go ‘up to’ heaven to be with God. But God has always been about coming back down to earth to dwell with us.
In his teachings, Professor and Scholar N.T. Wright describes this in great detail. He writes, “God’s kingdom, launched through Jesus’ public career, was not about people going to heaven after they die but about God’s sovereign rule coming ‘on earth as in heaven.’”
It is a good thing to long for heaven to be fully healed and restored with God. But if we only see heaven as the goal, we miss out on the most incredible promise that God has made to us for OUR future.
So, what does this reveal to us about God’s promised future kingdom?
It’s better than we could ever imagine in our wildest dreams.
Like the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when the children enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate room, and the garden is overflowing with abundant candy flowers and a flowing chocolate river. Everywhere they look, they see a good thing.
God has a plan to take our broken world and make it into something that is beyond what we could ever dream it up to be. All creatures great and small will dwell in harmony. There will be no enemies. There will be no war. No conflict with neighbors. No broken families. No disease. No cancer. No poverty. No death.
This is the hope we have to cling to when the brokenness in our lives seems to shout there’s no way out. Since the very beginning of time, God has been writing a redemption story. He’s held to His promises. He’s made a way for His people.
God will bring heaven down to earth because He desires to be with you. For eternity. Let that sink in for a moment. You get to be in His very presence forever.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we’re inviting God’s rule to come to fruition. We get to align our will to His ways and ask Him to come make that known to us. We might not know what the new heavens and earth will look like one day, but we do have access to God’s Word that gives us these clear instructions for kingdom living now.
This is the foundation of the Kingdom Come podcast. Together, we’re going to explore how belonging to God’s kingdom shapes how we live, work, wait, rest, hope, and love. We might not know what our future holds, but we know the One who holds all things together for our good future with Him.
This wraps up our mini-series on the Kingdom of God, but next week we’re launching a 4-month series on the Holy Spirit!
We’ll look at who the Holy Spirit is, where we see him throughout Scripture, and what it actually means to live Spirit-filled, Scripture-rooted lives in the everyday rhythms of our world.
This won’t be a series about emotional experiences or theological extremes. Although we will definitely talk about how those experiences do happen in the church. This series is an invitation to know God more deeply—to recognize His presence with us, and His work within us.
My hope is that as we walk through this together, fear will give way to understanding, confusion will give way to clarity, and familiarity will give way to wonder.
I can’t wait to begin this journey with you.
For the kingdom,
Carre