Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is
In Heaven
The Father’s PLan
The God of the Bible reveals Himself as The Eternal One. It is He who created both the heavens and the earth. Through the scripture we learn that He created the heavens first. Heaven is usually thought of as God’s space, it is where He dwells, It is a spiritual realm. We think of it as a paradise and a place of the miraculous. This is the place where The Presence of the Lord is openly manifested. The earth realm is the physical material place created by God for humans. It is what we connect with in the fullest measure.
In the beginning God walked with Adam face to face and Adam walked with God in the garden of Eden upon the earth. The heavenly realm and the earthly realm were dynamically connected to each other. Adam could see the angels. He could see God. There was nothing in the way, Heaven was open to us, and the fullness of the earth was ours as well. The two realms were flowing together in this mountain garden. This is our Father’s eternal plan. God is immutable, that means his purpose and intention has remained unchanged. God created heaven and earth to work together. He intended for His heavenly creation and his earthly creation to exist together as one Kingdom and He would dwell in the midst of them.
That plan suffered an interruption and a veil came between the two realms. That veil remains today. However, there is a day is coming when the Kingdom of God will be fully manifested on the earth. The two realms will flow together without any separation forever. It is the will of God for heaven and earth to be brought together in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Kingdom of God is fully manifest on earth, the heavenly realm will operate in conjunction with the natural realm. In other words, when Jesus comes again, the natural realm will not be suspended. The super natural qualities of the heavenly realm will enhance this natural realm and the earthly creation will go on into eternity. There are many verses that speak of this.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
The Gospel of the Kingdom is The Good News. Now, in the time between the cross and the second coming, believers who die go to heaven and live without a physical body. In heaven they live as a disembody spirit. This is not to say heaven is full of ghost-like creatures. In the realm of the spirit, created heavenly beings and the spirits of believers in heaven have spiritual forms which are body-like. However, they do not consist of physical material. The spirits of human believers are waiting for the trumpet to sound and the resurrection of the dead in Christ to occur. This is the day when they along with those believing ones who are alive on the earth receive their resurrected and glorified bodies. All the saints get their resurrected or glorified bodies at the time of the second coming. They do not have a physical body right now in heaven, because they do not need one to relate to the environment in heaven. We get a physical body at the last trumpet because we will be working on the earth. We need a physical body to enjoy and relate fully to the environment of a natural world. Our bodies will also be glorified so that we can also operate in and enjoy the fullness of the realm of heaven.
The Resurrected Body
You will have a resurrected body with a supernatural capacity. We read in the Gospel of John Chapter 20 and Luke 24, scripture which reveal things about this glorified resurrected body. The characteristics of the glorified resurrected body are displayed in Jesus. Jesus appeared to His disciples; He ate, He drank, He hugged them. He walked and talked with them. They recognized Him. Yet he also passed through the locked door and ascended into heaven.
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
— Luke 24:36-43
These scriptures also give us a picture of what the Millennial Kingdom will look like. The Bible tells us that Jesus’ return will usher in the physical manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Thus bringing the two realms together. Understanding this should change the way we as believers think about the future. There will be things that exist now that will still exist after the Lord comes. The earth is going to continue. Our future is glorious and there is much information about it right now in the word of God.
The Gentile & Jewish Views of the Kingdom
If you are reading this you are most likely a Gentile. Our view of the Kingdom of God is worshiping and living in the supernatural conditions of heaven. When we think of the King of this Kingdom, we think of Jesus and emphasize His deity as the Son of God. When Jewish people think of the Messiah, they think of the Great King, a Victorious One who will restore the Kingdom to Israel. They do not think of the supernatural environment of heaven, instead they are looking for a restored Kingdom on earth. They expect a son of David, not the Son of God who will rule as King.
Both Paradigms Are Correct
Here is another way of stating the two views. Israel focuses on the kingdom without the heavenly dimension. The church focuses on the kingdom without the earthly dimension. Israel focuses on the Messiah in His humanity. The Church focus on the Messiah in His deity. Many Christians only think of Jesus as the Son of God and they forget about his humanity to the point that they do not relate to the man Christ Jesus, who is coming as David’s greater Son to rule on the earth. Jesus is coming as the Son of God and He is coming as the Son of David. He is both. He is The Great King. He will rule all nations and He is head of the Church. He is LORD of Heaven and Earth.
God the Father Comes to Earth
“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’” — Revelation 21:3
This is one of the most significant verses revealing God’s pleasure and plan. It tells us clearly the Father's throne is coming to the material natural world. This is just gloriously huge. This is what we are praying for when we say,
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”
UNWRAP THE NEXT
CHAPTER: