Thy Kingdom Come, page 18
People in hell wouldn’t want to go to heaven even if they could, because they would actually be more miserable in heaven than they are in hell. As horrible as hell will be, it will be preferable to heaven for the condemned.
Now you say, “Tony, how in the world can that be true?” Here’s what I mean. We could call the second death the eternal version of the first death since the essence of both is banishment from the merciful and gracious presence of God.
Before Adam and Eve sinned, they had perfect fellowship with God. They were completely at peace in His presence. But the first thing they did after they sinned was hide when they heard God coming (Gen. 3:8).
Adam and Eve chose to run from God because they couldn’t bear to be in His presence in their sinful condition. It was too painful, like a person whose eyes are dilated suddenly stepping out into brilliant sunlight. If you have ever been in that condition, you know that darkness is preferable to light because the light is too painful.
That’s what would happen if an unredeemed sinner from hell were ever to enter heaven. It wouldn’t be relief and joy. It would be incredibly painful, and the sinner would want to run back to the darkness. Hell is the final punishment that will be pronounced on unrepentant sinners at the great white throne judgment.
WHAT BELIEVERS SHOULD DO NOW
Getting a glimpse into what hell will really be like and gaining a greater understanding of prophecy ought to motivate each of us to take part in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ as much as we can. Whether that means sharing the gospel yourself, or giving to ministries that do, promoting the spread of the gospel should be a focal point of your life goals and daily decisions.
When we had to cancel our tour to Israel due to the war breaking out, and we had to share the disappointing news with the thousand or so attendees who had looked forward to this trip, we were able to give them a refund. This is because going to Israel on the tour was our plan. There was no Plan B for this year. We didn’t suggest that they wait a month and let’s try again. Nor did we say we could go to another country together. We simply refunded those guests who did not want to wait a few more years until we aim to go again.
When you and I share the gospel with those who are lost, we are sharing the only plan and the only way to heaven. The gospel is the plan. There is no Plan B. There exists no other way to escape God’s wrath of hell than to trust in and accept Jesus Christ as Savior. That is how God has set it up to take place. It is my prayer that your study of the Scripture and the subject of prophecy will inspire you to share the gospel with as many people as you can. After all, when it comes to avoiding the horrors of hell, there is no other plan than placing your faith in Jesus.
APPENDIX: THE URBAN ALTERNATIVE
The Urban Alternative (TUA) equips, empowers, and unites Christians to impact individuals, families, churches, and communities through a thoroughly kingdom agenda worldview. In teaching truth, we seek to transform lives.
The core cause of the problems we face in our personal lives, homes, churches, and societies is a spiritual one; therefore, the only way to address it is spiritually. We’ve tried a political, social, economic, and even a religious agenda.
It’s time for a kingdom agenda.
The kingdom agenda can be defined as the visible manifestation of the comprehensive rule of God over every area of life.
The unifying central theme throughout the Bible is the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom. The conjoining thread from Genesis to Revelation—from beginning to end—is focused on one thing: God’s glory through advancing God’s kingdom.
When you do not recognize that theme, the Bible becomes disconnected stories that are great for inspiration but seem to be unrelated in purpose and direction. Understanding the role of the kingdom in Scripture increases the relevancy of this several thousand-year-old text to your day-to-day living, because the kingdom is not only then; it is now.
The absence of the kingdom’s influence in our personal lives, family lives, churches, and communities has led to a deterioration in our world of immense proportions:
• People live segmented, compartmentalized lives because they lack God’s kingdom worldview.
• Families disintegrate because they exist for their own satisfaction rather than for the kingdom.
• Churches are limited in the scope of their impact because they fail to comprehend that the goal of the church is not the church itself, but the kingdom.
• Communities have nowhere to turn to find real solutions for real people who have real problems because the church has become divided, ingrown, and unable to transform the cultural and political landscape in any relevant way.
The kingdom agenda offers us a way to see and live life with a solid hope by optimizing the solutions of heaven. When God is no longer the final and authoritative standard under which all else falls, order and hope leaves with Him. But the reverse of that is true as well: as long as you have God, you have hope. If God is still in the picture, and as long as His agenda is still on the table, it’s not over.
Even if relationships collapse, God will sustain you. Even if finances dwindle, God will keep you. Even if dreams die, God will revive you. As long as God and His rule are still the overarching standard in your life, family, church, and community, there is always hope.
Our world needs the King’s agenda. Our churches need the King’s agenda. Our families need the King’s agenda.
We’ve put together a three-part plan to direct us to heal the divisions and strive for unity as we move toward the goal of truly being one nation under God. This three-part plan calls us to assemble with others in unity, address the issues that divide us, and to act together for social impact. Following this plan, we will see individuals, families, churches, and communities transformed as we follow God’s kingdom agenda in every area of our lives. You can request this plan by emailing info@tonyevans.org or by going online to tonyevans.org.
In many major cities, there is a loop that drivers can take when they want to get somewhere on the other side of the city but don’t necessarily want to head straight through downtown. This loop will take you close enough to the city so that you can see its towering buildings and skyline, but not close enough to actually experience it.
This is precisely what we, as a culture, have done with God. We have put Him on the “loop” of our personal, family, church, and community lives. He’s close enough to be at hand should we need Him in an emergency, but far enough away that He can’t be the center of who we are.
We want God on the “loop,” not the King of the Bible who comes downtown into the very heart of our ways. Leaving God on the “loop” brings about dire consequences as we have seen in our own lives and with others. But when we make God, and His rule, the centerpiece of all we think, do, or say, it is then that we will experience Him in the way He longs for us to experience Him.
He wants us to be kingdom people with kingdom minds set on fulfilling His kingdom’s purposes. He wants us to pray, as Jesus did, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” Because His is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
There is only one God, and we are not Him. As King and Creator, God calls the shots. It is only when we align ourselves underneath His comprehensive hand that we will access His full power and authority in all spheres of life: personal, familial, ecclesiastical, and governmental.
As we learn how to govern ourselves under God, we then transform the institutions of family, church, and society using a biblically based kingdom worldview.
Under Him, we touch heaven and change earth.
To achieve our goal, we use a variety of strategies, approaches, and resources for reaching and equipping as many people as possible.
BROADCAST MEDIA
Millions of individuals experience The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans through the daily radio broadcast playing on nearly 1,400 Radio outlets and in over 130 countries. The broadcast can also be seen on several TV networks, and is available online at tonyevans.org. You can also listen or view the daily broadcast by downloading the Tony Evans app for free in the app store. Over thirty million message downloads/streams occur each year.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
The Tony Evans Training Center (TETC) facilitates a comprehensive discipleship platform which provides an educational program that embodies the ministry philosophy of Dr. Tony Evans as expressed through the kingdom agenda. The training courses focus on leadership development and discipleship in the following five tracks:
• Bible & Theology
• Personal Growth
• Family & Relationships
• Church Health & Leadership Development
• Society & Community Impact Strategies
The TETC program includes courses for both local and online students. Furthermore, TETC programming includes course work for non-student attendees. Pastors, Christian leaders, and Christian laity, both local and at a distance, can seek out The Kingdom Agenda Certificate for personal, spiritual, and professional development. For more information, visit TonyEvansTraining.org.
The Kingdom Agenda Pastors (KAP) provides a viable network for like-minded pastors who embrace the kingdom agenda philosophy. Pastors have the opportunity to go deeper with Dr. Tony Evans as they are given greater biblical knowledge, practical applications, and resources to impact individuals, families, churches, and communities. KAP welcomes senior and associate pastors of all churches. KAP also offers an annual Summit held each year in Dallas with intensive seminars, workshops, and resources. For more information, visit KAFellowship.org.
Pastors’ Wives Ministry, founded by the late Dr. Lois Evans, provides counsel, encouragement, and spiritual resources for pastors’ wives as they serve with their husbands in the ministry. A primary focus of the ministry is the KAP Summit that offers senior pastors’ wives a safe place to reflect, renew, and relax along with training in personal development, spiritual growth, and care for their emotional and physical well-being. For more information, visit LoisEvans.org.
KINGDOM COMMUNITY IMPACT
The outreach programs of The Urban Alternative seek to provide positive impact to individuals, churches, families, and communities through a variety of ministries. We see these efforts as necessary to our calling as a ministry and essential to the communities we serve. With training on how to initiate and maintain programs to adopt schools, or provide homeless services, or partner toward unity and justice with the local police precincts, which creates a connection between the police and our community, we, as a ministry, live out God’s kingdom agenda according to our Kingdom Strategy for Community Transformation.
The Kingdom Strategy for Community Transformation is a three-part plan that equips churches to have a positive impact on their communities for the kingdom of God. It also provides numerous practical suggestions for how this three-part plan can be implemented in your community, and it serves as a blueprint for unifying churches around the common goal of creating a better world for all of us. For more information, visit tonyevans.org and click on the link to access the 3-Point Plan. A course for this strategy is also offered online through the Tony Evans Training Center.
Tony Evans Films ushers in positive life change through compelling video-shorts, animation, and feature-length films. We seek to build kingdom disciples through the power of story. We use a variety of platforms for viewer consumption and have over 120 million digital views. We also merge video-shorts and film with relevant Bible study materials to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and to strengthen the body of Christ worldwide. Tony Evans Films released the first feature-length film, Kingdom Men Rising, in April 2019 in over eight hundred theaters nationwide, in partnership with Lifeway Films. The second release, Journey with Jesus, is in partnership with RightNow Media and was released in theaters in November 2021.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
We are fostering lifelong learning partnerships with the people we serve by providing a variety of published materials. Dr. Evans has published more than 125 unique titles based on over fifty years of preaching whether that is in booklet, book, or Bible study format. He also holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American, released in 2019. This Bible sits in permanent display as a historic release, in The Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.
For more information, and a complimentary copy of Dr. Evans’s devotional newsletter, call (800) 800–3222 or write TUA at P.O. Box 4000, Dallas TX 75208, or visit us online.
tonyevans.org
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Now that you have finished, share with your friends! Write a review on Goodreads and other book-sharing sites, Tweet & Facebook your thoughts on the subject, and share your testimony on how this book impacted you at mytestimony@moody.edu.
Thank you,
The Moody Publishers Team
TIRED OF RELIGION? LONGING FOR RELATIONSHIP?
Most Christians yearn to grow spiritually, but many don’t know how to begin. Flourishing faith comes from a vibrant walk with Christ—we need passion more than a process. Evans helps us understand God’s plan for our maturity, addressing topics like conversion, the Holy Spirit, power, and Scripture.
ONENESS IS HARD TO ACHIEVE. LET THE KINGDOM UNITY OF SCRIPTURE POINT THE WAY.
It’s hard to find agreement—much less real harmony—in our polarized society. Yet Tony Evans believes the gospel offers a path to oneness. Scripture teaches a kingdom-based approach to matters of history, culture, the church, and social justice. Although oneness is a struggle, the Christian must never stop striving.
GOD’S KINGDOM ISN’T JUST ABOUT THEOLOGY AND CHURCH.
God’s kingdom isn’t just about theology and church. It is about a whole new way of seeing the world and your place in it. The Kingdom Agenda offers a fresh and powerful vision that will help you think differently about your life, your relationships, and your walk with God.
Tony Evans, Thy Kingdom Come
