24 August 2006:

The Bible is actually the story about three kingdoms.

I see it this way: (we are not talking about scientific observation, but divine revelation.)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth: Genesis 1:1

Revelation Fact No. 1: God existed before the beginning of heavens and earth. He is the Creator.

Revelation Fact No. 2: 'heavens' - before the physical 'heavens'; the Bible revealed that God had created angelic beings. We will find that Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19, and Revelations 12
reveal about the fall of a third of these created angelic beings headed by Lucifer - today Satan.

Revelation Fact No. 3: 'earth' - reading the rest of Genesis 1 reveals that all that God created was perfect.

Revelation Fact No. 4: Both the heavenly beings and the human race were created with freewill. The choice to follow God His way or go the self way is the creations' right to choose. God chose to create to bless.

The Story of the Three Kingdoms:

'Kingdom' means not merely a sphere/realm but rulership over/ having authority over.

God always existed, and exists today and will always exist. He never had a beginning, He is, and will always be. God is eternal. God is the Supreme Being. He rules over all He created/creates.
This is the primary kingdom - The Kingdom of God.

Thus God's plan/intention (which I think is still being worked out today) is that He first created the angels to be His ministering spirits to serve Him and all that He plans.

Then God created the human race - a spirit being housed in a physical body (because God also made humans physical to live in a physical world.) (Genesis 2). We were made to have fellowship with God who is Spirit and to enjoy and worship Him.

Both the angelic realm (spirit) and the human (spirit but physical) were to submit to God under His Kingdom rule, to enjoy His favor and Him as the King. The choice is however theirs.

In came another kingdom. Remember that kingdom means not merely a sphere/realm but submission to an authority/rulership.

Lucifer; a created angel rebelled against God; desiring to be God, and corrupted 1/3 of the angelic hosts to set up his own kingdom. This became the kingdom of darkness.

The Bible reveals that this is the kingdom of Satan, the devil, inhabited by fallen angels, we call them devils, demons, ghosts, etc. God expelled these from His presence to earth, awaiting His judgment.

God allowed this to test if the human race will choose to come under His kingdom rule or like the devil rebel against His rulership. The choice is ours.

Unfortunately, the human race listened not to God's warning, (Genesis 2 & 3) but as with the fallen angels, chose to set up our own rulership - I did it MY way. This set up a third kingdom - The Kingdom of Man.

Thus today we live under three contending authorities: God - Satan - Man.

Jesus came to show us what it means to be truly human, and what total submission to His Kingdom means; revealing God's plan for human salvation from the deceit of Satan and bondages of the Kingdom of Darkness. Jesus' death on the cross is a death to self, choosing to trust God and His ways. In doing this Jesus set the example for us to live under God's Kingdom, under God's favor. Thus we are no longer condemned but live as freed citizens of His kingdom. Yet for now we are in the world but not of the world. We live under the rulership of God as His Kingdom citizens. That is why we are strangers/aliens in the world. We have been born again into God's Kingdom. I put it this way. We were born again when we believe in Jesus' salvation into God's Kingdom, but were 'returned' back to this world to live, learn, and reach the fallen world for God.

Salvation is not just about being saved to go to heaven. It is about coming back under God's rulership; becoming citizens of His Kingdom to live according to His ways under His patronage.

Jesus' message: Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
To enter the kingdom of God: You must be born again. (John 3) How? Through faith in God's provision for our salvation - believe in Jesus who came into our world. He lived and died trusting in God, and was raised again so that we can be convinced that God is for real.

However the Kingdom of darkness rages in their effort to continue to deceive the human race to the truth of God, to seek the human race to worship the devil in every way - idolatry, religion, etc. We can see the results of those controlled by the devil/living in the kingdom of the devil by the fruit - violence, drugs, sexual perversion, adultery, lying, lawlessness, demonised, etc.

Human beings unfortunately live self-willed lives without realising that much of the human kingdom of self rulership is actually demonically controlled. Example would be a purely scientific approach to understand the universe. Genesis 3 reveals that the human race lost the spirit sensing when they were deceived by the devil, and came under the rulership of the kingdom of darkness. Thus the kingdom of man - pure humanism - really is living under the kingdom of darkness - ie. under the deceit and lies of the devil, making the humankind self sufficient or dependent upon things/philosophy/even just purely depending on science (all these are the devil's manipulation). God is out of the picture; even disdained.

Christians are really followers of Jesus Christ, ie. choose Jesus to live anew under the Creator God in His Kingdom, under His rulership. That is why Christianity is not a religion of rituals (though rituals can help us in worshipping God - means not the end), nor is Christianity a set of rules of Thou shalt or Thou shalt not, but a trust relationship under the rulership of a great and good God who loves us. Christianity is not merely our ticket to heaven booked, but a living in this fallen world according to God's Kingdom principles and for the Kingdom.

All these are revealed in the Bible and by living in the presence of God through prayer, worship, fellowship, agape feast, good works...

In death, we return to God in His Kingdom forever. But while we are here, we learn about this Kingdom of God through His revelation in His Word, and we have to wage two wars.

First a war again the devil. This is both personal and philosophical. The devil has corrupted the whole world including its whole setup, systems and cultures.

We also war against ourselves; the flesh nature. You see, we were all born in sin, corrupted thus need to be born again in the spirit. We were all taught purely from the corrupted world views; depending upon the sciences of the five senses as oppose to the spirit sensing as well.

Thus Christians live to learn about this Kingdom of God we have lost knowledge of because of sin, and now in Christ, we not only are wise to the devil and his kingdom, but also aware of our own kingdom (self ways - depicting the results of the devil's corruption) that often contradicts God's way.

Thus life is often a decision we have to seek to make: God's way, the devil's way (could be permeated into the world system; of course, God's way can also be in the world, this is afterall still His world); or our own way.

Be careful when you sing the song: I did it MY way. I heard someone put that as an epitaph in his tombstone. MY way may not be God's way.

Whose Kingdom are we under? Your choice really; and it is an ongoing choice.

The Christian can be 'spiritual'. ( 1 Corinthians 2:14). This does not mean religious, but one who discerns God and His way to live.

In this world the human race are living 'worldly' lives as the 'natural man'. Often this is because he/she does not know we are living under three authorities that seek our allegiance all the time. God, the devil, or self. Here the self seeks control.

Jesus said: If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.

However many Christians are living no different in actual living from the world. Why? I believe ignorance and sometime willful disobedience are the key reasons. These live as 1 Corinthians 3:3 calls it: Carnal/worldly living as 'Fleshly' man.

Live as Kingdom of God people, under the King, for His purpose by His rules.

Live as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

I pray that this has blessed you as much as it has reminded me to live under the King of kings rulership who has also made me to reign with Him in His Kingdom.

Now that's another story...

Happy blogging... for His Kingdom