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Rather than leaving the earth and going up to heaven, the Bible envisions a future in which heaven comes down to earth. Although this present age is full of injustice, suffering, and death, the age to come will be a time of unprecedented justice, wholeness, and eternal life. Ultimately, God’s kingdom will supplant corrupt human power structures, ushering in a golden era of peace, prosperity, and pleasure.

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What God originally wanted in the beginning he’s going to bring about in the end. Victor Gluckin’s 5-part sermon series on the kingdom of God will show you what the Bible teaches about the future of God’s people.

Listen to Sean Finnegan’s audio class on the Kingdom of God on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Kingdom Hope

• Kingdom of God Class (8-video playlist) J. Dan Gill offers an overview of where the kingdom will be and what it will be like. He also covers what one must do to enter the kingdom.
• The Living Hope Class (16-video playlist) Vince Finnegan’s aim for this class is to provide a fuller knowledge of the hope to fortify you to endure life’s struggles with joy.
• Hope of the Kingdom (group study) Anna Shoffner Brown’s Forge study leads a small group through five relevant kingdom passages with questions to spur on discussion.

Kingdom Living

• Kingdom Ambassadors (47m video) Sean Finnegan preaches on what it looks like to seek first the kingdom of God (Mat 6:33). How can you live as a kingdom ambassador today? Audio is also available.
• Matthew 25: Kingdom Ready (44m video) In light of the coming kingdom, how should you live? This sermon focuses on the parables in Matthew 25, designed to get you ready for the kingdom to come. Audio is also available.
• Spirit and Kingdom (47m audio) Sean Finnegan puzzles over why Jesus’ disciples connected the outpouring of the spirit with the coming of the kingdom in Acts 1.6. He shows that receiving God’s spirit is experiencing a piece of the coming kingdom in the present.

How Christianity Lost the Kingdom

• Rejecting the Kingdom 1: Too Crude (7-page article) Sean Finnegan explores why some Christians rejected the kingdom hope in favor of going to heaven at death. Their philosophical presuppositions privileged immutability, making paradise on earth seem too crude. A video is available on YouTube and audio is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Rejecting the Kingdom 2: Too Hedonistic (11-page article) Some Christians rejected the kingdom because their preference for asceticism made the biblical hope of resurrected bodies banqueting on a restored earth seem too hedonistic. Audio is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Rejecting the Kingdom 3: Too Jewish (7-page article) Some Christians rejected the kingdom because they believed Christians should interpret Old Testament prophecies allegorically while only Jews take the literally. Thus, anyone holding to a literal kingdom idea sounded too Jewish to them. A video is available on YouTube and audio is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• The Kingdom of God in Early Christianity (41m video) This class session covers the main believers in the kingdom of God on earth from the first 400 years of Christianity before summarizing the kingdom deniers of the same period.

Heaven Is Not Your Destiny

• For the intermediate state, see Research Topic 6: Sleep of the Dead
• Heaven’s For the Birds (42m video) In the Bible heaven refers to the sky where the bird fly, outer space where the stars exist, and the realm where God dwells. However, heaven is not the destination of the saved, rather a renewed earth is. Get the audio on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
• Heaven Is Not My Home (208-page book) David Burge looks at the kingdom of God in the covenants God made before examining what the New Testament teaches about it in this systematic treatment.

Hell Destroys the Wicked

• Myth: The Lost Suffer Eternal Torment in Hell (46m video) Sean Finnegan offers 3 reasons why eternal conscious torment is unconvincing: (1) dozens of biblical texts teach the destruction of the wicked, (2) eternal torment slanders the character of God, and (3) it proposes disproportionate justice. Audio is also available.
• Hell Is the Fire That Consumes (63m video) Edward Fudge lectures on the biblical and historical case hell as a place of annihilation not undending agony. Also available as audio on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. See also Fudge’s classic 442-page book for a deeper treatment.
• The Punishment of Hell Will Be Annihilation (169 video) Chris Date debates Phil Fernandez on whether or not hell annihilates the wicked or tortures them eternally. Audio available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Rethinking Hell (website) This comprehensive site contains many articles, videos, and a podcast all focused on teaching conditional immortality and annihilationism.

Recommended Resources

• 260 Radio Shows by Anthony Buzzard called “Focus on the Kingdom”
• 21st Century Reformation (Webpage) Curated by J. Dan and Sharon Gill, this page includes many videos and articles by a variety of teachers about the kingdom of God.
• The Coming Kingdom of the Messiah (94-page book) Anthony Buzzard shows that Jesus’ claim was to be the Messiah, a highly charged political title meaning that he believed his destiny was to rule the world from Jerusalem, bringing peace and order to the whole of mankind in a renewed earth. Also available as a pdf for free.
• Our Fathers Who Aren’t in Heaven (394-page book) Anthony Buzzard presents a detailed biblical theology of the kingdom of God.
• Kingdom through Covenant (960-page book) Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum present a biblical theology of the kingdom of God, showing how the covenant unfold and relate to one another.
• Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (143-page book) George Eldon Ladd explores many aspects of the kingdom of God based on the parables, Sermon on the Mount, and other key passages.