Thy Kingdom Come

Eugene has a real gift for sound effects - a gentle breeze, crunching footsteps, a barn door slamming shut - but when Whit asks him to help with a radio show about the Kingdom of Heaven, he suddenly can't get out the door fast enough. Ever since the Imagination Station showed him a terrifying glimpse of eternity without God, Eugene has refused to talk about faith with anyone. Then Connie catches him at the library, buried under a stack of books about Christianity, with special-ordered Bibles waiting at the desk. Eugene admits he's been secretly studying the faith... but he can't rush into believing something he doesn't understand. When Connie's explanations tie her in knots, Eugene finally brings his questions to Whit, who uses the sound-effects studio to show him how our world is only a dim echo of the real, eternal one. Studying can only carry him so far, Whit explains, because faith is a matter of the heart. Stepping out into the sunshine, Eugene admits, "I think I want to believe, but I need help with my unbelief" - and Whit tells him that's as good a start as any.

Found on On Earth as it is in Heaven Album 17 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

1 of 2 0226 An Adventure in Bethany Swamped by church busywork, Lucy takes an Imagination Station trip to first-century Bethany, where a famous household is about to teach her the difference between working for God and being with Him.

2 of 2 0227 An Adventure in Bethany When Jesus delays answering a desperate plea from Bethany, time-travelers Whit and Lucy must learn why the Master's timing - even when it seems too late - can be trusted.

0228 A Game of Compassion A star soccer player's secret promise to help a stranger puts him on a collision course with the biggest game of the season.

0229 The Marriage Feast When every noble in the kingdom snubs the prince's wedding, a king's invitation goes out to anyone who will come - but accepting it isn't as simple as showing up.

0230 Our Father A lonely boy with a runaway imagination goes looking for someone to fill his absent father's shoes - and nearly finds it in all the wrong places.

0231 Hallowed Be Thy Name When Whit unveils his new Bible-research computer at Whit's End, Connie discovers that God has far more names than she ever imagined - and that each one tells a story.

0232 Thy Kingdom Come While producing a radio dramatization of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven, Whit and Connie try to reach Eugene, who has been avoiding everyone since a haunting experience in the Imagination Station.

0233 Thy Will Be Done When a free-speech newspaper job and a covert conversion campaign both test what it means to do God's will, Lucy and Connie learn that being God's agents isn't about clever schemes.

0234 Our Daily Bread When a devoted family man loses his job for the first time in his life, his family rallies to keep the household afloat - but what he really needs may not be a paycheck.

0235 Forgive Us as We Forgive When Ernie Myers comes home after two years in prison, his family throws a joyful welcome - but his son Eric is finding it far harder to open his heart than to hang a banner.

0236 Into Temptation Jimmy's birthday-money showdown over a coveted video game leads him into Whit's newest invention - a room that shows not the past, but the consequences of the choices you're about to make.

0237 Deliver us from Evil When Whit's Bible research machine breaks down, Bernard and Eugene form an unlikely storytelling duo to help Marsha with her report on one of history's most fantastic rescues.

0238 For Thine is the Kingdom A young ballerina's dreams are put to the test when a moment of carelessness on her bike changes everything she thought her future would be.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 9 more roles

1 featured character

Jesus Christ Brian Cummings

8 supporting roles

Librarian Actor Unknown Farmer Corey Burton Merchant Corey Burton Narrator (e) Brian Cummings Narrator (q) Corey Burton Merchant's customer Brian Cummings Field owner Brian Cummings Field owner's servant Corey Burton

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Director · Producer Dave Arnold Sound Designer · Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

At Whit's End, Whit is hard at work on a children's radio production about the parables of the Kingdom of Heaven - the stories Jesus told about wheat and weeds, a tiny mustard seed, yeast in the dough, buried treasure, a priceless pearl, and a fisherman's net. The trouble is that Whit keeps pushing the wrong buttons, dropping elephants and bulldozers into first-century Israel, so he asks Eugene, who has a real gift for sound effects, to take over. Eugene demonstrates exactly the right touch - a gentle breeze, footsteps crunching on dry ground, a barn door closing with a resounding bang - but then insists he is far too busy to help and hurries out the door.

Whit and Connie both suspect what is really going on. Ever since Eugene's frightening experience in the Imagination Station, when Whit's Life After Death program showed him complete isolation and emptiness - what Whit calls a near-perfect description of eternity without God - Eugene has been avoiding everyone and refusing to talk about it. Whit urges Connie to be sensitive and not push, but when she finds Eugene in the kitchen she blurts the question out anyway. Eugene announces that becoming a Christian is a closed issue for him and walks out.

When Whit sends Connie to the public library for sound-effects records, she catches Eugene there, buried under a stack of books about Christianity, with special-ordered Bible translations waiting for him at the desk. Cornered, Eugene admits he has been quietly researching the faith. He does not doubt what he experienced, but he is not someone who can rush into believing; he needs to understand first, and he did not want Connie and Whit to get their hopes up. When he asks Connie what the Kingdom of Heaven actually is, she ties herself in knots trying to explain and finally suggests he talk to Whit.

Eugene returns to Whit's End and tells Whit the whole story, including how terrifying the experience really was. In the studio, Whit shows him how a few buttons can conjure a beach or a farmyard that sounds completely real but is not, then explains that our world works the same way - it seems like all there is, but it is only a dim reflection of the eternal world to come, the Kingdom of Heaven. All of Eugene's studying can only carry him so far, because faith is not so much a matter of the mind as of the heart and spirit. As the two step outside into the sunshine, Eugene admits, "I think I want to believe, but I need help with my unbelief." Whit tells him that is as good a start as any.