The Future is Brighter Than You Can Imagine

It feels like bad news bombards us on every front these days. Sometimes, I mentally wince before tapping on a news app because it’s usually full of troubling headlines. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have intensified many problems, and the continual cycle of stressful news has increased suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression, as many articles have shown lately.

Both the “here and now” and the future feel dark, hopeless, and dreary to many. However, there is good news. For those who believe in the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ, there is glorious hope for the future. Keeping this vital promise of God in mind can bring hope and help us cope with the stress and anxiety that so many people face.

Everything Will Change

This great news was Jesus’ message while He preached on the earth. His Father sent Him specifically to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, as we read: “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent’” (Luke 4:42–43).

And this message isn’t just found in the New Testament; the Old Testament also contains many prophecies about God’s coming kingdom (cf. Daniel 2:37–45; Isaiah 2:2–4; Zechariah 14:8–21). The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” Many versions of the Bible translate it that way—for example, “Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23, World English Bible).

The Kingdom of God is not just good news—it’s marvelous news! When Christ returns at the great sound of the seventh trumpet, He will establish His Father’s kingdom and rule over the nations and governments of the earth. Scripture describes this magnificent time: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” (Revelation 11:15). Even though few understand this truth, this is the moment the whole creation longs for—the time when a strong, righteous leader will bring peace and prosperity for humanity.

The Kingdom of God will be established upon the almighty shoulders of Jesus Christ as He rules and serves mankind as its Counselor, Mighty God, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The greatness, abundance, and peace of God’s Kingdom will never end (Isaiah 9:7), and it will be ruled by God’s perfect law, which restores the soul (Psalm 19:7; Micah 4:2). In God’s Kingdom, the deserts really will blossom like roses. When Jesus Christ heals the world, the blind will be given sight, the deaf will be given hearing, and those who were once lame will dance to the songs of those who were once mute. Tamed animals, rivers of pure water, and beautiful plants and trees will renew the world, making it the garden that God intended (Isaiah 11:1–10; 35). These events are the changes Jesus promised to bring in the not-so-distant future.

It Will Be Worth the Wait

Our days and weeks, our televisions and newspapers, our computers and mobile devices—all are full of stressful events, stories, and opinions. Sadly, the Bible warns that worse is coming before deliverance arrives. Jesus predicted that the Great Tribulation, the worst time in mankind’s history, will come before His return (Matthew 24:21). He didn’t “sugarcoat” the bad news. However, He also emphasized that, as bad as the bad news will be, the good news will be far greater.

One day, the glory and grandeur of God’s kingdom will completely overshadow today’s bad news—and that bad news will be in the past. As the Apostle Paul said, the bad we suffer now is nothing compared to the good He will reveal to us (Romans 8:18).