Kingdom Family Ministries

Chris
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

The Kingdom Family Podcast is a place where we explore identity, restoration, and the life of the Kingdom of God. Hosted by Chris Cobler, this podcast helps people rediscover who they truly are — sons and daughters of Yahweh — and learn to live from the freedom and fullness of that reality. Through conversations, teachings, and reflections, we unpack themes like identity in Christ, family, spiritual growth, and the restoration of humanity through the finished work of Jesus. Because the Gospel is not about joining a religion — it’s about coming home to the family of God.

  1. 9h ago

    The Lake of Fire: The Final Defeat of Death | Rethinking Hell, Week 6

    What if the Lake of Fire is not the triumph of God’s wrath against humanity, but the final defeat of everything that destroys humanity? In Week 6 of Rethinking Hell, we examine Revelation’s symbolic language and take a closer look at the moment when death and Hades are thrown into the Lake of Fire. Death and Hades are not people—they are enemies and forces that Christ came to overthrow. Through Revelation 20–21, Isaiah 25, 1 Corinthians 15, and Hebrews 2, we explore the Lake of Fire as an image of divine judgment, the destruction of death, and the victory of Christ. What follows the fire is not endless chaos or eternal torment, but new creation, renewal, and the declaration that God is making all things new. The fire is not the end of the story. Restoration is. Death does not win. Hell does not win. Christ does.

    The Lake of Fire: The Final Defeat of Death | Rethinking Hell, Week 6

  2. Sep 29

    Judgment: Punishment or Restoration? | Rethinking Hell, Week 5

    When you hear the word “judgment,” do you picture the anger of an offended God—or the restoring work of a loving Father? In Part 5 of our Rethinking Hell series, we examine the Greek word krisis and discover that biblical judgment involves decision, evaluation, discernment, and the unveiling of truth. In John 3, judgment is pictured as Light entering the darkness and exposing what has been hidden—not God losing control or seeking revenge. We’ll explore the difference between punishment and loving discipline, the Father’s heart revealed in the story of the prodigal son, and the refining purpose of judgment throughout Scripture. God does not ignore pride, violence, corruption, or injustice. He confronts and removes everything that prevents His creation from reflecting its true identity. What if judgment is not God turning against humanity, but God turning humanity back toward life? What if judgment is not something to fear, but something we can trust? Judgment is not the rage of an angry God. It is the restoring love of a faithful Father.

    Judgment: Punishment or Restoration? | Rethinking Hell, Week 5

  3. Sep 22

    Rethinking Hell: The Fire That Refines

    When you hear about the fire of God, what comes to mind? Anger? Punishment? Destruction? Eternal torment? But what if we've misunderstood one of Scripture's most powerful images? In Week 4 of Rethinking Hell, we're looking at fire throughout Scripture and asking a critical question: Does God's fire exist primarily to destroy—or does it reveal, purify, refine, and restore? From Moses standing before a bush that burned without being consumed, to Malachi's refiner's fire, to Paul describing a fire that burns away someone's works while the person is saved, Scripture gives us a much bigger picture of divine fire than many of us were taught. In this episode, we explore: The burning bush and God's presence in Exodus 3What it means that “our God is a consuming fire”God as the Refiner's Fire in Malachi 3How refining fire removes impurities while preserving what is valuablePaul's incredible statement in 1 Corinthians 3 that the works burn while the person remainsFire as an image of exposure, purification, and justiceIsaiah's surprising picture of who can dwell with “everlasting burnings”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnaceWhy God's presence can be found in the fireThe relationship between biblical judgment and purificationWhy judgment doesn't automatically mean endless punishmentIn Daniel 3, the three Hebrew men entered the fire—but the fire didn't ultimately destroy them. Instead, something else was burned away: their bonds. And someone else was revealed: God in their midst. Maybe that gives us a powerful picture of divine fire. God's fire isn't His anger running wild. His fire is His love refusing to leave us unchanged. Fire exposes what is false. Fire consumes what corrupts. Fire purifies what is valuable. Fire reveals what is true. Perhaps the question isn't simply, “Will I encounter the fire of God?” Perhaps it's: “What remains when everything false has been burned away?”

    Rethinking Hell: The Fire That Refines

  4. Sep 15

    Rethinking Hell: The Enemy Was Never Hell — It Was Death

    What if the Bible’s greatest enemy isn’t hell? What if it’s death itself? In Week 3 of Rethinking Hell, we go deeper into two of the biblical words commonly translated as “hell”: Sheol and Hades. In the Old Testament, Sheol wasn’t described as an eternal torture chamber. It was the realm of the dead—the grave, the unseen place of death. Both the righteous and the wicked were described as going there. In the New Testament, we encounter the Greek counterpart: Hades. And then something incredible happens. Jesus enters death…and comes out the other side. Peter declares in Acts 2 that Christ was not abandoned to Hades. Revelation declares that Jesus now holds the keys of Death and Hades. And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that the final enemy to be destroyed isn't humanity. The last enemy is death. In this episode, we explore: What Sheol meant in the Old TestamentWhy both the righteous and wicked were associated with SheolHades as the New Testament realm of the deadJesus entering and conquering deathThe Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16Why Luke 16 should be read in its parabolic and Jewish storytelling contextJesus holding the keys of Death and HadesWhy Paul calls death—not humanity—the last enemyThe surprising absence of “hell preaching” in the book of ActsThe different judgment images Jesus actually usedWhy those images shouldn't automatically be collapsed into one doctrine of “hell”The gospel proclaimed by the early church wasn't simply: “Avoid hell when you die.” It was the announcement that Jesus Christ died, rose again, defeated the power of death, forgave sin, poured out His Spirit, and reigns as Lord. Christ didn't escape death. He entered it, conquered it, and came out holding the keys. Maybe the good news is much bigger than escaping somewhere bad when we die. Maybe the good news is that Death has lost—and Life has won.

    Rethinking Hell: The Enemy Was Never Hell — It Was Death

  5. Sep 8

    Gehenna: Hell Was a Place You Could Visit

    What if, when Jesus spoke about “hell,” His audience wasn’t imagining an eternal torture chamber somewhere in the afterlife? What if they were picturing a valley they actually knew? In Week 2 of Rethinking Hell, we zoom in on Gehenna—the word Jesus used most often that many English Bibles translate as “hell.” Gehenna comes from Ge-Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom, a real location outside Jerusalem with a dark history of child sacrifice, idolatry, prophetic judgment, and national destruction. So when Jesus warned His first-century Jewish audience about Gehenna, what were they actually hearing? In this episode, we explore: The disturbing Old Testament history of the Valley of HinnomJeremiah’s prophetic warnings concerning the valleyWhy Gehenna became an image of judgment and destructionJesus’ warnings about the eye, hand, and Gehenna in Matthew 5The meaning of the Greek word skandalizō—to stumble, become trapped, or be ensnaredMatthew 10:28 and what apollymi, translated “destroy,” actually meansMark 9 and Jesus’ warning about “unquenchable fire”Why “unquenchable” does not necessarily mean “burning forever”How the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 may illuminate Jesus’ warningsWhy biblical judgment must be understood through the character of the Father revealed in JesusJesus’ warnings were serious—but serious does not automatically mean eternal conscious torment. Jesus wasn’t threatening people because He delighted in destruction. He was warning His people because He loved them. Warnings are not cruelty. Warnings can be an expression of protective love. Gehenna wasn’t mythology. It was geography. And understanding the geography, history, language, and prophetic context may completely change the way we hear some of Jesus’ most difficult words.

    Gehenna: Hell Was a Place You Could Visit

  6. Sep 1

    The Word ‘Hell’ Isn’t in the Bible the Way You Think

    What if the picture of hell many of us inherited isn’t actually the picture Scripture gives us? In this episode, we begin a new series: Rethinking Hell. For many of us, the word hell immediately brings to mind flames, torment, punishment, and eternal suffering. But there’s a problem: the English word “hell” collapses several very different biblical words into one. We’ll begin unpacking four important words: Sheol — the Hebrew realm of the dead Hades — the Greek realm of the dead Gehenna — the Valley of Hinnom and its imagery of judgment Tartarus — a term used only once in the New Testament concerning rebellious spiritual beings We’ll also take a closer look at Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Is Jesus giving us a literal map of the afterlife—or confronting religious leaders whose wealth, privilege, and self-righteousness had blinded them to mercy? And when Jesus warns about the “fires of hell” in the Sermon on the Mount, what word did He actually use—and what would His original Jewish audience have heard? This series isn’t about watering down Scripture or asking you to simply adopt another doctrine. It’s an invitation to study, wrestle, question inherited assumptions, and take Scripture seriously enough to hear it in its original context. Because when words are misunderstood, Papa is misunderstood. And when Papa is misunderstood, fear replaces trust. Maybe rethinking hell will ultimately cause us to rethink something even bigger: the character of our Father.

    The Word ‘Hell’ Isn’t in the Bible the Way You Think

  7. Jun 30

    Occupy Until He Comes: Living with Purpose, Not Fear

    Many of us were taught that the Christian life is about simply surviving until Jesus returns. But is that really the message Jesus gave His disciples? In this final episode of the Rethinking End Times series, we explore Jesus' command in Luke 19 to "occupy until I come." Far from calling His followers to withdraw from the world or wait passively, Jesus invites us into a life of faithful engagement—building, serving, loving, stewarding, and partnering with Heaven to see His Kingdom revealed on earth. Together we'll unpack the meaning of the Greek word pragmateuomai, discover why the unfaithful servant's greatest failure was inactivity rather than imperfection, and explore how fear leads to passivity while faith produces purposeful action. No matter where you land on your understanding of the end times, the call of Jesus remains the same: live with hope, remain faithful, and faithfully release the Kingdom within you into the world around you. The Kingdom isn't waiting. It's advancing—through ordinary people who choose daily obedience.

    Occupy Until He Comes: Living with Purpose, Not Fear

  8. Jun 23

    Rethinking the Two Witnesses and the Trumpets

    What do the Seven Trumpets and the Two Witnesses in Revelation actually represent? For many Christians, these passages have been associated with end-times fear, catastrophic predictions, and endless speculation. But when we step into the world of the first-century church and the imagery of the Old Testament, a very different picture begins to emerge. In this episode of Rethinking End Times, we explore the biblical meaning of trumpets, the symbolism of the Two Witnesses, and the message Revelation was communicating to believers facing persecution and uncertainty. We'll trace trumpet imagery from Sinai to Jericho to Revelation, discovering that trumpets were primarily instruments of gathering, warning, announcement, and covenant transition—not secret evacuations. We'll also examine the powerful symbolism behind the Two Witnesses, including olive trees, lampstands, sackcloth, fire, Moses and Elijah imagery, and the recurring theme of faithful witness. Most importantly, we'll discover that Revelation's focus is not fear but faithfulness. Before judgment comes warning. Before shaking comes witness. Before collapse comes a call to repentance. Key Topics: • The purpose of trumpets in Scripture • Numbers 10 and biblical trumpet imagery • Trumpets in Exodus, Jericho, and Revelation • The significance of the "one-third" judgments • The symbolism of the Two Witnesses • Olive trees, lampstands, and sackcloth • Moses and Elijah imagery • The Great City and first-century context • Faithful witness in the face of opposition • Why Revelation emphasizes endurance over speculation The trumpets announce transition. The witnesses announce truth. And throughout every shaking, Christ remains King.

    Rethinking the Two Witnesses and the Trumpets
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About

The Kingdom Family Podcast is a place where we explore identity, restoration, and the life of the Kingdom of God. Hosted by Chris Cobler, this podcast helps people rediscover who they truly are — sons and daughters of Yahweh — and learn to live from the freedom and fullness of that reality. Through conversations, teachings, and reflections, we unpack themes like identity in Christ, family, spiritual growth, and the restoration of humanity through the finished work of Jesus. Because the Gospel is not about joining a religion — it’s about coming home to the family of God.

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