Christians have prayed the words “on earth as it is in heaven” for centuries.
According to Randy Kay, that prayer is not merely a request — it is a prophecy now being fulfilled.
“What if I told you that prayer isn’t just a request?” he said. “It’s a prophecy, and it’s being fulfilled. Right now, God is doing something He hasn’t done since creation itself. He’s creating something new.”
Citing Ecclesiastes’ declaration that there is “nothing new under the sun,” Kay argues that while humanity endlessly recycles systems and structures, God operates above the sun — and therefore is not bound by human limitation. “Only God can create new,” he said.
As Kay cites, history has already witnessed two major spiritual shifts initiated by God, and a third, final one is now underway.
The First Two Shifts
The first shift, he explained, occurred with the arrival of Jesus Christ.
“For thousands of years, God worked through Israel. The covenant was with the Jewish people,” he said. “Then Jesus came, died, rose — and everything changed.”
Quoting Isaiah 43:18–19, Kay emphasized the prophetic nature of that transition: “Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.”
The inclusion of the Gentiles, described by Paul in Romans 11, marked what he called God’s first great disruption of religious expectation.
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The second shift, however, he says, is less often acknowledged — Christianity moving from a Christ-centered movement into an institutional system.
“What Jesus built got buried when Rome corrupted the Way around 300 AD,” he said. “Walls were erected between God and His people.”
Referencing the Edict of Milan in 313 AD and the rise of Constantine’s influence over church doctrine, he quoted historians who observed, “The church conquered Rome, but Rome conquered the church.” What was once a Spirit-led, relational movement became hierarchical, politicized and mediated.
Even the Protestant Reformation, he argues, failed to restore what was lost. “The Reformation didn’t restore the Way — it just reorganized the separation,” he said.
The Third Shift: Heaven to Earth
Kay contends the third shift — and final one — is now unfolding: heaven manifesting on earth before death.
“This isn’t reformation. This isn’t revival of the old,” he said. “This is God manifesting the reality of heaven here, now.”
He describes heaven not as a distant destination, but as a state of total relational immersion with God. “In heaven, God isn’t part-time. He isn’t a Sunday appointment,” he said. “He is your point of reference.”
Kay then shared his own personal testimony: “I died in 2005 — 30 minutes clinically dead — and I experienced what I’m describing to you.”
In that experience, he claims there was no separation between God and man. “The glory of God isn’t something you visit. It’s something you’re immersed in,” he said. “You don’t step in and out. You live in it.”
Why the West Is Declining While the Underground Church Explodes
While the Western church continues to hemorrhage attendance — with Gallup reporting U.S. church membership falling from 70% in 1999 to 47% today — Kay points to explosive growth in places where Christianity is illegal or persecuted.
“Iran now has the fastest-growing Christian population on earth,” he said. “More Iranians have come to Christ in the last 20 years than in the previous 1,400 years combined.”
Conversions there, he noted, come not through programs or pulpits, but through dreams and visions of Jesus. “No missionary. No program. Direct encounter with Christ.”
China’s underground church and Africa’s exponential growth show the same pattern. “The glory falls where the walls don’t exist,” he said.
A Vision of Glory — and a Warning
During his near-death experience, Kay described seeing God’s glory spreading across the earth — but stopping short of many in the West.
“Some people had a covering over them, like an umbrella,” he said. “They were defended — but not by God. Defended against Him by tradition, religion and systems.”
He warned that theological camps, denominational identities, and political allegiances can become barriers to intimacy with God. “The glory can only fall on the open, the surrendered.”
A Call to Discernment and Relationship
While the message is undeniably provocative — and certain claims demand biblical testing — its core challenge aligns with Scripture’s emphasis on relationship over ritual.
Jesus Himself warned religious leaders, “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces” (Matt. 23:13). And Peter reminds believers that God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
“The church doesn’t need another doctrine,” Kay said. “It needs transformation. And transformation only comes through relationship.”
The question now is not whether heaven is real, but whether Christians will lower their defenses enough to seek God Himself, rather than the structures built around Him.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment.
