If we understand nothing else about the kingdom, we should understand first of all that it will be wonderful beyond anything we can imagine. Not only will there be the absence of sin and suffering, but there will also be a wealth of positive blessings as well... the greatest of which is that we will live in the manifest presence of the most wonderful and blessed being there is... God Himself. Words can only begin to suggest the greatness of the blessing and glory that will be ours!
The kingdom will be unstained by sin or evil.
The present creation is wretched in two ways… First, it is contaminated by sin. Second, it is under the curse of God.
That it is contaminated by sin is documented daily in the news… At the international level, it manifests itself in countless wars, and in corrupt and brutal governments. At the national level, it is manifested by the numerous violent crimes which are committed daily, and by dishonesty which is so prevalent (false insurance claims, frivolous lawsuits, tax evasion, embezzlement, etc.). At the family level, it is manifested by the frequent accounts of abuse of spouses and children, and the high rates of divorce and infidelity.
There are many groups today which exist solely to promote ungodliness in one form or another… homosexuality, feminism, pornography, Spiritism, atheism, etc. The secular media produces movies, television programs, videos, magazines and music blatantly intended to arouse impure passions or to promote hellish religions. Even news programs often seem intent on promoting the latest perversion.
We each have relatives or acquaintances who unforgivingly bear a grudge against another or who exhibit a bitter spirit. Rare indeed is the extended family that has been untouched by divorce or scandal. Even we who know the Lord are painfully aware of the presence of sin in our own hearts and lives.
But in the kingdom, there will be none of this. God in justice will send the wicked to their richly-deserved punishment. God in mercy sent His beloved Son to suffer our richly-deserved punishment that He might redeem and cleanse for Himself a people without stain or blemish. Violence, wickedness, brutality, injustice, dishonesty, hatred, self-will, arrogance and greed will have no place in God's eternal kingdom. We will never so appreciate the purity and righteousness of God as we will when we enter His kingdom and witness its purity and righteousness. The contrast with the present miserable world will be shockingly wonderful.
The kingdom will be a welcome relief to those believers who are suffering under oppression and persecution. Not only in our day, but throughout history, Christians have been mercilessly persecuted for their faith. Many have been tortured, killed or imprisoned. Many have been forcibly separated from loved ones. Others have had their homes and possessions taken from them. Many have been denied jobs or daily necessities. Often, false religion has motivated much of this hatred... whether it be the paganism of ancient Rome, the intolerance of the Roman Catholic Church and of Islamic zealots or the Atheism of the Communists in Europe, Russia, China and Latin America... one thing remains constant: followers of Christ have been despised and horribly mistreated.
Christ's kingdom will also provide relief from the false teachings that are so prevalent today... from the foolish blasphemies of Atheists and Liberals, to the deceptive doctrines of the various cults... Mormonism, Catholicism, the Watchtower (Jehovah's Witnesses), Christian Science, New Age mysticism, etc. The Theory of Evolution, one of the most effective of all Satan's deceptions, will be exposed as a godless fabrication, devoid of any true scientific or Biblical support. Modern psychology, with its self-exaltation and guilt-denial, will have no place in the eternal kingdom.
Instead, everyone who dwells in the eternal kingdom will know and love the Lord Jesus, and will fully trust His eternal word, the Bible.
Death and suffering will be unknown.
The second way in which the present world is wretched is that it is under the curse. When Adam sinned in Eden, he brought himself and all his descendants under the curse of corruption and death…
Genesis 2:17 – but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."Moreover, Adam's sin brought God's curse on all that God had created…Romans 5:12 – Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned–
Genesis 3:17-18 – 17Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;All the violence, suffering and death we see in the natural world is a consequence of God's judgment upon Adam's sin. Before the fall, there were no venomous snakes, no carnivorous animals, no tornadoes or earthquakes or floods. There were not even annoying insects such as flies or mosquitoes. This does not mean that there were no lions or bears in the original creation, but their character changed drastically at the fall when God pronounced His awful curse upon the world. All these things which afflict or terrorize us will be absent in God's eternal kingdom.Romans 8:20-22 – 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Even death, the inevitable end of all men and animals, will be unknown. Death's companions… illness, frailty and injury shall likewise be unknown. Anything that is harmful, destructive, painful or fearsome will be gone. In its place will be a creation which is perfectly suited to human life and comfort.
Isaiah 11:6-9 – 6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 9They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.God will dwell with us.
The greatest blessing of all is that God Himself will dwell with us in the everlasting kingdom. God is the author and giver of every good thing…
James 1:17 – Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.God's goodness is expressed in the good things which He gives us; but His goodness and glory far exceeds that of the gifts He gives. The delightful things which we enjoy in this life are personified in God who has formed them and who provides them out of His great kindness toward us. In other words, God is infinitely more wonderful than all the blessings which we enjoy in this life, and if we delight in the blessings of this life, how much more blessed will it be to live in the presence of our heavenly Father who lovingly gives us these blessings!
God's greatest gift to His people was the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the sacrificial Lamb for our sins. He did not do this because we had any loveliness of our own. On the contrary, we were wicked sinners – rebels against God – who deserved only God's anger and wrath. The gift of Christ demonstrates God's infinite mercy toward us… the beauty which attracted God to us did not lie within us, but within Him… He is abundant in mercy and grace… showing mercy to His enemies and giving His most treasured possession to those who were the least deserving…
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.It is this God who will condescend to dwell with us throughout eternity. The prospect of living forever in the presence of such a good and loving God should fill us with unspeakable joy!Ephesians 2:4-5 – 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
We commonly suppose that believers will go to be with God in eternity, but Scripture often turns this around, saying that God will come to dwell with us in the kingdom…
Zechariah 2:10-12 – 10"Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the LORD. 11"Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 12"The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.Revelation 21:1-3 – 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
Revelation 21:22 –I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 22:3 – There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;