Jesus is coming back — not to whisk us away to some cloudy realm, but to bring heaven to earth, and to make the reign and rule of God permanent on this planet.

There is a popular image of heaven as a place of celestial bliss — with clouds, angels, harps and chubby babies. But that’s not how the Bible depicts heaven at all. In Scripture, heaven is actually described as a new earth. Revelation in particular paints a picture of heaven that includes a city, a river, trees, feasting, fellowship and joy. It all sounds very earthy.

The disciples seem to have had the same kind of picture. In particular, they expected the Messiah to be a political ruler; a king who reigns in the physical land of Israel. In fact, one of the reasons many Jews of the time rejected Jesus is because He just didn’t fit that description.

It is of course true that Jesus declared, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). As His ministry continued, it became increasingly clear that Jesus had not come with the intention of setting up a political dominion in this outpost of the Roman Empire. This serves as a reminder to us today that while political engagement is important for the Christian, it is not the means by which God will usher in His kingdom — not in the present age, at least.

Nevertheless, the disciples and other first-century Jews were not altogether wrong in expecting a political ruler. Israel’s prophets had long promised that God would raise up a redeemer from the line of David who would bring physical deliverance from their Gentile enemies, restore the Jewish temple, and reestablish the kingdom rule of David. If you doubt this, take a look at Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-2, and Jeremiah 23:5.

First-century Jews had not misinterpreted these Scriptures — but they had missed other ones. Their eyes were shut to the fact that the Messiah would first come as a suffering servant.

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