The kingdom of God - the invisible kingdoms

THE INVISIBLE REALMS

OBJECTIVES:

by the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Have an understanding of the natural and spiritual worlds.
Define the word "kingdom."
Identify the two spiritual realms.
Identify the rulers of the spiritual realms.
Identify the inhabitants of the spiritual realms.
Define the phrase "kingdom of Satan."
Define the phrase "kingdom of God."

KEY VERSET:
Matthew 24:14 This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world, for a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.

INTRODUCTION

This chapter is about the natural and spiritual worlds. The natural world is what you can see, hear, touch and taste. It's the visible world around you. But there's another world that surrounds you, of which you are a part. It's an invisible world made up of two spiritual realms. In this chapter, you'll learn about these spiritual realms, their rulers and residents. You'll learn about the Kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God.

The natural and the spiritual

Man exists in two worlds: the natural and the spiritual. We have seen that the natural world is what can be seen, smelled, touched, heard, or tasted. It is tangible and visible. The country, nation, city or village in which you live is part of the natural world. You are a resident of a natural kingdom located on one of the visible continents of the world. You can see the people in your environment. You can communicate with them. You can experience the sights, sounds and smells around you. But there's another world in which you live too. This world is a spiritual world. You can't see it with your physical eyes, but it's just as real as the natural world. Paul speaks of this division between the natural and spiritual worlds in :

I Corinthians 15:40 There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

All men have a natural body that lives in the natural world. But man is also a spiritual being with an eternal soul and spirit. Man is body, soul and spirit. Your spiritual being (soul and spirit) is part of a spiritual world, just as your natural body is part of the natural world.

TWO SPIRITUAL REALMS

There are natural kingdoms in this world. A natural kingdom is a territory or people over which a king reigns. The Bible speaks of the kingdoms of the world. The kingdoms of the world are currently under Satan's control:

Matthew 4:8-9 The devil again carried him to a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and said to him, I will give you all these things, if you will bow down and worship me.

in the future, all the kingdoms of the world will become God's kingdoms, and he will reign over them:

Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.

In the natural world a king is the sovereign head of the kingdom. All the territory and people of the kingdom belong to him. He has the power of life and death over his subjects. The spiritual world is made up of two spiritual kingdoms, the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. Satan's kingdom consists of Satan, the spiritual beings called demons, and all men who live in sin and rebellion to God's Word. The Kingdom of God consists of God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, spiritual beings called angels, and all men who live in righteous obedience to God's Word.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

There is a kingdom of God, but it is described in different ways in Scripture. The expression "Kingdom of Heaven" is also used to designate the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is identical with the Kingdom of the Father (Matthew 26:29), of Jesus (Revelation 1:9), of Jesus Christ (II Timothy 4:1), of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5), "our Lord and his Christ" (Revelation 11:15), "our God and the power of his Christ" (Revelation 12:10), and "the Son of his love" (Colossians 1:13). All these elements are names for the Kingdom of God. For the sake of simplicity, the single title "Kingdom of God" will be used in this teaching.

The Kingdom of God is not a denomination. Denominations are human organizations or groups of churches. They have been set up for practical reasons of organization and administration. Denominations are organizations such as The Baptist Church, The Assembly of God, Global Frontier Churches, etc. The Bible speaks of the true Church, which is not a denomination or religious organization. The true Church is made up of all those who have become residents of the Kingdom of God. The true Church is the spiritual body created by God, through which the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be spread to all the nations of the world. This Church is made up of all men and women who are residents of the Kingdom of God.

The Church must not only preach and teach the Gospel of the Kingdom, it must provide a model for living in the Kingdom of God. The Church must operate with Kingdom motives and principles, and demonstrate in its way of living, the teachings of its King, Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God existed in the past, it exists in the present, and it will exist in the future, all in different forms. right now in the natural world, the Kingdom of God exists individually in every man, woman, boy or girl who has made Jesus the King of his or her life. In the future, there will be a real visible revelation of the Kingdom of God. You'll learn more about the past, present and future of the Kingdom of God later in this teaching. Because the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom and not a natural kingdom of this world, it can only be understood by a spiritual mind:

I Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

KINGDOM RULERS

Satan's kingdom is ruled by Satan. Satan was originally a beautiful angel created by God and was part of the Kingdom of God, but he tried to take control of the Kingdom of God. You can read about his rebellion in Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:12-19. Several angels joined Satan in the rebellion and they were all driven out of the Kingdom of God. They formed their own kingdom, which is called Satan's kingdom. The Kingdom of God is governed by the Trinity of God which is composed of the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

KINGDOM RESIDENTS

In addition to the rulers, there are other inhabitants of the two spiritual realms. Evil spirits called demons are residents of Satan's Kingdom. These spirits can enter, torment, control and use humans who belong to Satan's kingdom. They motivate many acts of evil that are done by men and women. Before the end of the world, Satan will use special spirit beings in his kingdom as the Anti-Christ. They will be part of Satan's final deceptive plan to overthrow the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God also has residents. These are the angels who are spiritual beings who minister to the men and women who are part of the Kingdom of God. Just as demons obey Satan in the world, angels do God's will.

Although both angels and demons are spiritual beings, they reveal themselves visibly and verbally in the natural world on occasion. Demons who possess the bodies of men speak and act evil through them, and angels sometimes appear in visible form. In addition to these spiritual beings, all living people are either residents of the Kingdom of Satan or the Kingdom of God.

ENTERING THE KINGDOMS

One of the parables told by Jesus reveals that all men are part of either the Kingdom of Satan or the Kingdom of God. Jesus compared the world to a field. In this parable, the good seed is the children of the Kingdom of God. The bad seed, which resulted in the growth of tares (weeds), is the children of the evil one:

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the Kingdom, but the tares are the children of the evil one.

People enter Satan's kingdom by natural birth. The Bible teaches that all men are born in sin. This means that they have a sinful nature at their core, or that the "seed" of sin is within them. Their natural tendency is to do evil:

Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was born in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me .

Romans 5:12 Wherefore , as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Because we are born with the basic sinful nature, we have all at some time been part of Satan's kingdom. The whole message of God's written Word, the Bible, is the call to man to pass from the evil kingdom of Satan to the righteous kingdom of God. Men are born into Satan's kingdom by natural birth. They must be reborn into the kingdom of God by spiritual birth.

Those who are born again change their place of residence from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. They change their allegiance from Satan to God. When they enter the kingdom of God, they must learn the principles that govern life in that kingdom. It's like learning how to live in a new country to which you've immigrated.

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE KINGDOMS

Since the time of Satan's rebellion, there has been a spiritual battle raging between Satan's Kingdom and God's Kingdom. The Bible is the record of the war between these two kingdoms. This spiritual war waged throughout the world takes place in the thoughts, souls and minds of men. Satan tries to keep men captive to sin in his kingdom. Through deceptive methods, he lures men and women to partake of the temporary lusts of sinful living. He affects souls and spirits that rightfully belong to God:

John 10:10 The thief (Satan) comes only to steal, slaughter and destroy: I (Jesus) have come that the sheep may have life and have it to the full.

This war in the spirit world will continue until the end of time, as we know. Spiritual warfare is a subject of great depth, for it involves discovering Satan's kingdom, his spiritual strategies and tactics for defeating the forces of evil.