Chapter One !!

THE PRIORITY OF THE KINGDOM ,

 It was hot that morning over 90 degrees and humid. I was just five years old, and excited. The heat did not bother me because that day I was chosen to lead the school pledge and national ant hem. There we all stood, over three hundred of us, in our uniforms short brown pants, long knee socks, stiff, starched white shirts, our little necktie sholding the Union Jack. 

As we pledged to honor and submit tothe Queen of our kingdom, we sang the two songs that were the first ones we were required to learn from birth. Every one of us knew every word, and we sang with gusto and pride:“God save our gracious queen, long live our noble queen, God save the queen.

 Send her victorious, happy and glorious, born torule over us, God save the queen.”Next came the waving of the flag of the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain as our voices filled the air with the second song:“Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britons never, never,never shall be slaves.”It has taken me almost a lifetime to understand, appreciate, andin some ways overcome the impact of those history-making experi-ences of my childhood. Today I understand that what we went through in those school days illustrates the nature of kingdoms. 

We were in the process of being fully colonized taught to become true subjects of a kingdom and obedient worshipers of sovereignty. We were part of a global kingdom whose culture was different than our heritage. Every day we felt the impact of a foreign kingdom. Even today, 50 years later, the impact of that kingdom is still seen, felt, heard, and experienced in every part of our independent nation of the Bahamas.

 I still wear a tie in 90-degree heat; I still drink tea every day; and I still drive on the left-hand side of the street. In some ways, I suppose, I am still under the influence of that kingdom mentally. When the kingdom became our priority, its impact became a reality. This book is about another Kingdom whose flag weall should hold and another King to whom we should sing praises. 

REDISCOVERING THE PRIORITY 

The greatest secret to living effectively on earth is understand-ing the principle and power of priorities. Life on earth holds no greater challenge than the complicating daily demand of choosing among competing alternatives for our limited time. Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make every day, and those decisions are determined by our priorities. How we use our time every day eventually defines our lives. Life was designed to be simple, not complicated, and the key to simplifying life is prioritization. Identifying the correct and right priority of life is the key to a suc-cessful and fulfilled life. So then, what is the principle and concept of priority? 

Priority is defined as:

1/The principal thing.

2/Putting first things first.

3/Establishing the most important thing.

4/ Primary focus. 

5/Placing in order of importance. 

6/Placing highest value and worth upon.

7/ First among all others. If our priorities determine the quality of life and dictate all of ouractions and behavior, then it is essential that we understand andidentify our priorities. 

The greatest tragedy in life is not death but life without a purpose life with the wrong priorities. Life’s greatest challenge is in knowing what to do. The greatest mistake in life is to be busy but not effective. Life’s greatest failure is to be successful in the wrong assignment. Success in life is measured by the effective use of one’s time.Time is the true measure of life. 

In fact, time is the currency oflife. How you spend your time determines the quality of your life and death. You become what ever you buy with your time. Always be aware that everything and everyone around you is vying for your time. Your time is important because your time is your life. And the key to effective use of your time is establishing correct priorities.

First things first! When your priorities are correct, you preserve and protect your life. Correct priority is the principle of progress because when you establish your priority according to your purpose and goals then your progress is guaranteed. Correct priority protects your time.When you set the right priorities, then you use your time for inten-tional purposes; your time is not abused or wasted. Correct priority protects your energy. 

Correct priority protects your talents and gifts. Correct priority protects your decisions. Correct priority protects your discipline. Correct priority simplifies your life. Failure to establish correct priority causes you to waste your twomost important commodities: your time and your energy. When your priorities are not correct, you will find yourself busy with the wrong things, majoring on the minor, doing the unnecessary, or becoming preoccupied with the unimportant. 

Incorrect priorities in your life will cause you to invest in the less valuable, engage in inef-fective activity, and abuse your gifts and talents. Ultimately, it will cause you to forfeit purpose, which results in failure. Why is this principle of priority so important to our discussion of the Kingdom? Because if priority is the essence of life, then we should want to know what our priority in life should be so that wecan live effectively. 

It may surprise you to know that most of the peo-ple in the world are driven by incorrect priorities that occupy and control their entire lives. What are these priorities that master mostof the human race? The answer is perhaps found the in the work of behavioral sci-entist and psychologist Abraham Maslow who, after studying the motivations of human behavior, concluded that all human behavioris driven by ....

the same basic “hier archy of needs”: 
1. Water.2. Food.3. Clothes.

4. Housing.5. Protection.6. Security.7. Preservation. 

8. Self-actualization. 9. Significance.

 It is important to note that Maslow listed these motivational needs in order of priority. Perhaps if we are honest, we would agree that the human rat race does indeed strive for all of these things. We go to work every day, and some even hold down two or more jobs,just to secure water, food, clothing, housing, and protection. 

What a tragedy, to think that the basic priority driving most humans is thatof simple survival! Would it surprise you to learn that most religions are built around the promise to meet these very same needs as a priority? Meeting human needs is the premise of all religions. One commondenominator of all religions is the effort to please or appease somedeity in order to secure basic needs such as a good harvest, favor-able weather, protection from enemies, etc.

 Another factor that all religions have in common is that their primary focus is on the needs of the worshiper. Priority in religious prayers and petitionsis for personal needs. Human needs drive religion. Much of whatwe call “faith” is nothing more than striving for the very things onMaslow’s list.

THE PRIORITY OF GOD

God established His priority at the beginning of creation and made it clear by His own declaration to mankind. Jesus Christ cameto earth and rees-tablished God’s number-one priority. Should it sur-prise us to discover that God’s priority for mankind is completely opposite to man’s priorities? Let us read God’s priority for mankind as stated by the Lord Jesus. 

During His first discourse introducing His mission and primary message, Jesus established God’s priority for all mankind with several powerful and straight forward state-ments: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, whatyou will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matthew 6:25).Notice that this statement directly challenges Maslow’s hierar-chy of needs and contradicts its order. 

Jesus’ statement also exposes man’s defective priority and confirms our preoccupation with the less important. His admonition to us not to worry implies that these basic needs for maintenance should not be the primary motivator for human action. The word worry means to consume in thought, toestablish as our first interest, mental preoccupation, priority con-cern, fretting, fear of the unknown, and to rehearse the future over which we have no control. 

Continuing on, Jesus says:Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who ofyou by worrying can add a single hour to his life?(Matthew 6:26-27).This statement implies that our self-worth is more important than our basic needs and should never be sacrificed for the sake ofthose needs.And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies ofthe field grow. They do not labor or spin. 

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like oneof these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?(Matthew 6:28-30).The thrust of these verses is that our confidence in our Creator’s obligation and commitment to sustain His creation should lead us to transfer our priority from our basic human needs to the priority of cultivating and maintaining a healthy relationship with His Kingdom and with Himself.

So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:31-32).The word “pagans” here implies that religion should not be motivated by the base drives of human needs for food, water, clothing, shelter, and the like. 

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33,emphasis added).Here Jesus states God’s number-one priority: Seek first His Kingdom.This is the most important statement made by the Lord Jesus,and it establishes what should be the first priority in our lives. Jesus identifies the Kingdom as being more important than food, water,clothing, shelter, and every other basic human need. According toHis assessment, then, what should be mankind’s priority and pri-mary preoccupation in life? The Kingdom of God. 

God’s number-one priority for mankind is that we discover, understand, and enterthe Kingdom of Heaven. It is this priority that motivated me to write this book. The priority of all human beings is concealed in thewords, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything you need for life will be added to you.”

This declaration by Jesus also suggests that there must be some-thing about the Kingdom that all of mankind has missed and misun-derstood. If everything we pursue and strive for to live and surviveare found in the Kingdom, then we have been misguided and perhaps have imposed on ourselves unnecessary hardship, stress, and frustration. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it sown (Matthew 6:34). 

GOD’S PRIORITY ASSIGNMENT FOR MANKIND

For the last 35 years this simple man date laid down by Jesus Christ has been my life’s mission. And it continues to regulate my life decisions today. The benefits that have come from this commit-ment have been beyond my expectations, which is one reason why Iam whole heartedly committed to assisting you in under standing this wonderful reality of Kingdom living. 

Below I have laid out the practical process of fulfilling this mandate so that you can see clear-ly that this is one priority we must reorder. Our first instruction from Jesus is to seek. This means to pursue,study, explore, understand, learn, and consider. Seekers must have a desire to know, and possess a passion for the object of their search.

To seek means to give diligent dedication to and to preoccupy one’sself with that which one is seeking. The Kingdom must be pursued,studied, understood, and learned. Second, Jesus tells us to make the Kingdom first. In other words,the Kingdom must be our top priority, the principal thing to placebefore all others as most important. We must place the highest value on the Kingdom of God, setting it above everything as our primary focus.

 The Kingdom must be placed above everything else and should have no competition. It must be our highest priority. Jesus then instructs us to seek first the Kingdom. This is the most important aspect of the mandate and must be carefully considered.First, it is important to understand that because a kingdom is not areligion, the priority of mankind should not be to seek a religion orsome form of ritual. 

The word for “kingdom” in this verse is basileia(NT: 923), the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew mamlakah(OT:4467), translated in Genesis 1:26 as “dominion.” Both words mean dominion, sovereign rule, kingdom, reign, or royal power. In this book, we will focus on this concept in detail because it should be our priority and because it is generally an unknown or mis understood concept in most modern cultures. 

In practical terms, a kingdom may be defined as “the sovereignrule of a king over territory (domain), impacting it with his will, pur-pose, and intent.” In this biblical text, the word “kingdom” as used by Jesus refers to God’s government, God’s rulership, God’s dominion over the earth. The Kingdom of God means God’s will executed,Gods’ jurisdiction, Heaven’s influence, God’s administration, and God’s impact and influence.

In this book, we will use the following working definition:A kingdom is...The governing influence of a king over his terriroty,impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent,producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle thatreflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens.Jesus’ final instruction to us in this verse is to seek also the right-eousness of the Kingdom. 

This is another vitally important concept that has been diluted in the waters of religion and must be recovered if we are to understand the Kingdom and experience the abundant life all humans deserve. The word righteousness is actually from the discipline of law, not religion, and implies right positioning. To be righteous means to be in alignment with authority, to be in rightstanding with authority, to have correct fellowship with authority, to be in right relationship with authority, to be in legal or lawful align-ment, and to be in correct standing with the law or regulations(principles) of and to fulfill the requirements of authority.In essence, righteousness describes the maintenance of therightly aligned relationship with a governing authority so as to qual-ify for the right to receive governmental privileges. 

This is why Jesus emphasizes the Kingdom and the need to be righteous so that you can receive “all things added unto you.” This promise includes allyour physical needs, all your social needs, all your emotional needs,all your psychological needs, all your financial needs, and all your security needs, as well as your need for self significance and a sense of self-worth and purpose. 

Therefore, as we have seen above, God established only two pri-orities for mankind: the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God. Kingdom refers to the governing influence of Heaven on earthand righteousness refers to right alignment and positioning with that government authority. Our highest priorities and greatest desires should be to enter the Kingdom of God and thirst for a right relationship with God’s heavenly government.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33NKJV, emphasis added).Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6, emphasis added).

THE CONCEPT OF KINGDOM

The concept of “kingdom” was not invented by mankind but was the first form of government introduced by the Creator. This con-cept appears first in the Book of Genesis at the creation of man.Man’s original assignment from God was a Kingdom assignment:“Let them have dominion over...the earth.” God’s plan for man wasto extend His heavenly Kingdom (government) to the earth throughthe principle of colonization. Man’s assignment was to establish theinfluence and culture of heaven on earth by representing the nature,values, and morality of God in the earth.

 In this way, God’s heaven-ly rule would manifest itself on earth through His extended image in mankind. This was the first Kingdom: Yahweh, the King, extending His heavenly Kingdom to earth through His off spring, man. This isthe wonderful story and message of the Bible—not a religion, but aroyal family. Ever since the Fall of man, he has tried to imitate this concept ofkingdom; but throughout history, man’s every attempt to establish aheavenly kingdom on earth has failed. 

This is why religious govern-ments always fail, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any other form. It is for this reason that God Himself had to come to earth to bring the heavenly Kingdom back to this planet. The earth cannot give rise to the Kingdom of Heaven independently; the Kingdom of heaven must issue forth from heaven. Man lost a kingdom, and a kingdom is what he is looking for. Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of Heaven back to the earth, not to establish a religion. 

And mankind seeks not a religion but the Kingdom we lost so long ago.This is why religion cannot satisfy or fulfill man’s spirit. The Kingdom of Heaven has top priority by virtue of its role in the orig-inal purpose of man’s creation. As such, the Kingdom was the first form of government on earth. 

LOSS OF A CONCEPT

The kingdom concept as a whole has been lost to contemporary human culture, especially in the Western world. In his attempt to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, man has opted to design his own forms of government. But his experiments continue to fail: evil kingdoms, empires, dictators, communism, socialism, democra-cy...and the list goes on. The desire for righteous government burn sin the heart of every human. 

All of us are seeking the Kingdom even if we all don’t realize it.Many historical kingdoms of the past contained several compo-nents that resemble the Kingdom of God and can be beneficial to us when studied. I was born in 1954 under a kingdom that at that time ruled the Bahamas and colonized our lives. This experience has made it easier for me to understand the Bible because it is a book about a King and a Kingdom.My goal in this present writing is to reintroduce the concept of the Kingdom to a world that has lost it.

 Most people alive today have never had any contact or relations with a kingdom. Consequently,ignorance of the kingdom concept makes it difficult to understand fully the message of the Bible. In the chapters that follow, I will unveil many of the unique concepts and components of a kingdom that will help you immediately understand the words, claims, prom-ises, and methods of God as well as the life and message of Jesus.

According to Jesus, the most important priority and preoccupa-tion of all mankind should be the seeking and studying of the heav-enly Kingdom government and administration of the Creator God and His purposed plan and program to impact earth. But in a prac-tical sense, how does one go about seeking this Kingdom? How does one explore the concept, nature, function, program, components,principles, and power of the Kingdom? Answering these questions is the purpose and intent of this book. To accomplish this purposewe must: Understand kingdom concept.Understand kingdom philosophy. Understand kingdom government. 

Understand kingdom law.Understand kingdom culture.Understand kingdom society.Understand kingdom economy. Understand kingdom citizenship. Understand kingdom provision.Understand kingdom worship. Understand kingdom protocol.Understand kingdom representation. The secret to a full and fulfilled life is discovery, understanding,and application of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. 

Religion post-pones the Kingdom to a future experience. But you must remember that you cannot appropriate what you postpone. God’s desire for youis that you enter the Kingdom life nowand experience, explore,apply, practice, and enjoy living with the benefits, promises, and privileges of Heaven on earth. Let the adventure begin!

 PRINCIPLES  

1. The greatest secret to living effectively on earth is under-standing

     the principle and power of priorities.

2. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life withouta purpose

   life with the wrong priorities.

3. Our self-worth is more important than our basic needsand 

    should never be sacrificed for the sake of thoseneeds

.4. God’s number-one priority for mankind is that we dis-cover, 

    understand, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

5. A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over histerritory, 

   impacting it with his personal will, purpose andintent, producing 
   a culture, values, morals, and lifestylethat reflect the king’s 
    desires and nature for his   citizens.

6. God established only two priorities for mankind: theKingdom 

  of God and the righteousness of God.

7. The concept of “kingdom” was not invented by mankindbut 

   was the first form of government introduced by theCreator

.8. Ignorance of the kingdom concept makes it difficult 
    tounderstand fully the message of the Bible.

Chapter Two .

THE KINGDOM OF GOD VERSUS
THE GOVERNMENTS OF MAN

Ninety percent of all the national and international problems facing our world today are the result eitherof government or religion. This includes global hunger,health epidemics, wars, terrorism, racial and ethnic conflicts, segre-gation, nuclear tension, and economic uncertainty.

Through out history, man’s greatest challenge has been to learn how to live in peace with himself and his neighbors. Whether it isthe continent of Africa, Old Europe, Norsemen of England, the Mongols of Asia, Indians of North and South America, or the Eskimos of Iceland, tribal warfare, racial and ethnic conflicts, and full-scale war have been the human story. 

In all of these social and cultural expressions of humanity, the one thing that has always evolved was some kind of authority structure, a form of leadership or government mechanism to establish and maintain social order.

From the painted walls of native caves and the hieroglyphics ofthe tombs of ancient Egypt, to the historic pyramid structures of the Aztec worshipers, evidence abounds of man’s desire and need for and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no manto work [manage or administrate the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground (Genesis 2:4b-6).From these verses we see that the Creator allowed no productivegrowth to take place on the earth because “there was no man towork the ground.” The word “work” here implies management, administration, orderly development, and making fruitful. Thus,one of the principal motives for the creation of man was to providea manager, administrator, and ruler of the planet earth. 

This is why the Creator expressed it in these words:Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule [or have dominion] over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the live stock,over all the earth, and over all the creatures that movealong the ground” (Genesis 1:26).The mandate of the Creator for mankind was rulership anddominion. As we saw earlier, the word “dominion” here translatesthe Hebrew word, mamlakah, meaning “kingdom” or “sovereignrule” or government. 

Therefore, the first command given to manby his Creator was to establish a “government” on the earth todestroy chaos and to maintain order. Government is God’s solu-tion to disorder.The logical conclusion one can derive from this scenario is, firstof all, that government is God’s idea; second, that the absence or lackof correct government will always lead to chaos and disorder; andthird, that wherever there is chaos, disorder, or lack of productivity, the answer is correct government.

The fall of mankind as recorded in the third chapter of Genesis was the result of man declaring independence from the government of heaven, resulting in anarchy and social and spiritual chaos. Ever since that fatal fall from governing grace, man has been attemptingto establish a form of self-government that would alleviate the inter-nal and external chaos he continues to experience. Of course, thatchaos is also manifested in the natural physical creation he was mandated to govern—the earth. 

This is the reality behind the state-ment of the first-century biblical writer, Paul, when he wrote:The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons ofGod to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of theone who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself willbe liberated from its bondage to decay and brought intothe glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans8:19-21).Paul’s statement reveals the fact that government affects notonly the people of the land but also the land and physical environ-ment itself. 

Governing is serious business. When man rejected heav-en’s government, he became the source of his own governing program. The results ever since have proven that we need help. The Creator’s intent was to administrate earth government from Heaven through His image (nature) in man and thus manifest His nature and character on earth. God’s government is a unique structure that isyet misunderstood. I would at this point describe it as a corporate kingdom government. Government by corporate leadership! 

The theocratic order of a King over kings as partners in governing! Thisis what we would call the “Kingdom of Heaven.” The kingdom gov-ernment concept is God’s idea.However, when man rejected heaven’s government, he had no choice but to accept as an alternative the disappointing plethora of human attempts at government. When the children of Israel left the land of Egypt, as recorded in the Exodus story, God instructed Moses to advise them that they would be governed by the laws of heaven and led by God Himself as their heavenly King on earth. 

This was the first step in God’s plan to reinstate the Kingdom of Heaven on earth once again, using a small nation of slaves as His prototype.He expressed His divine desire through Moses, stating:“Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then outof all nations you will be My treasured possession.Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites (Exodus 19:5-6).

Here we see God’s intent for the nation to be governed by heav-en from heaven and to be an expression of His Kingdom on earth.Israel rejected theocracy, the rule of a gracious and loving King who would protect and provide for them. Instead, they substituted a king for the King. Their decision led to calamitous consequences.

The Fall of man was not the loss of heaven but rather the loss ofthe Kingdom government of heaven on earth. Any honest human taking a serious look at the conditions of our planet would have to conclude that earth is in need of a new, or in this case, an alternative form of government. The spiritual, social, economic, physical, envi-ronmental, and cultural conditions of our earth demand a govern-ment that is superior to any we have yet invented. 

Perhaps the answer to man’s need for an effective and just government is found in the first official words of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago asHe announced His primary mission and commented on the human condition:From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom ofheaven (Matthew 5:3).Here we note that Jesus’ assessment of man’s spiritual and social hunger and poverty of soul can be satisfied only by receiving the Kingdom of Heaven. 

The Kingdom is the only source of true joy forThe the heart of man. Jesus’ announcement identified His stated solution to man’s earthly condition: “The kingdom of heaven is near[or ‘hasarrived’].” The kingdom concept originated in the mind of God and was the original governing system designed for earth. The ideal kingdom concept is unique, distinctive, and provides for the greatest benefits to its citizens. The ideal kingdom is such a beautiful idea that only God could have thought of it. And it is the only system of governingthat can bring the peace, equality, and fulfillment that mankind longs for. 

I use the term “ideal kingdom” concept because historical-ly man has attempted to imitate and duplicate the heavenly design of the Kingdom with disappointing results. Man’s efforts to establish kingdom government has produced defective, oppressive, anddestructive models that have not only fallen short of the noble aspi-rations of man but has also inflicted negative repercussions on hisfellowman. In essence, mankind’s rejection of Heaven’s Kingdom model has led to the abolition of peace and the installation of inferi-or forms of government. Some governments are better than others,but allare inferior to God’s government the Kingdom of Heaven.

THE GOVERNMENT OF MAN VERSUS

THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD

The Bible is the most misunderstood book on planet earth, notonly by those who do not prescribe to it, but also by many of those who claim to know and embrace its message. Simply stated, theBible is about a King, a Kingdom, and a royal family of children. The Bible is not about religion and was never intended to be a religious book. Rather, its story and message are about the desire of a King to extend His Kingdom to new territories through His royal family.

The Bible, therefore, is about government and governing. What is government? Government is about order, influence, administration, distribution, protection, maintenance, accountability, responsibility. and productivity. Technically speaking, government is the person, group, or organization that executes the functions of gov-erning. This is manifested in the exercise of authority and jurisdiction over territory and a citizenry. 

Government was first established by the command and mandate of God to Adam and incorporates the need toorder, work, oversee, guard, and protect.The roots of government in the western world reach back to theworld of the Greeks. In Greek, government (kubernites) literally means to steer, to pilot, or to act as a rudder. With out law and gov-ernment we have chaos. So, government is the power given or derived for the purpose of making and enforcing laws for a certain territory.

Governing in corporates the concepts of both power and author-ity. These two are distinct from each other and must be fully under-stood in order to appreciate the proper context of government. Both authority and power must be in balance for government to be suc-cessful. Authority has to do with responsibility while power has todo with ability. Authority has to do with empowerment; powerfocuses on exercising authority. Authority gives power its legality.Power without legitimate authority is dictatorship and in evitably results in abuse, oppression, and destruction. 

Authority gives powerits rights.Authority is the key to successful government. If the ruling power does not have authority, it cannot govern. The authority togovern either is given by way of a popular vote or derived by way of inherent authority. Earthly governments derive their authority from the people either through a process of choice or by usurping author-ity through force. For instance, a president or premier or prime min-ister is imbued with authority by the people who voted him or her into power.In kingdoms, however, authority is inherent and a product of the rights of ownership. This concept is crucial in understanding thenature of kingdoms. 

God’s authority as King is inherent. No one gives Him authority. He has authority because of who He is and because He created the earth and everything that lives on the earth.That is why Jesus could say that all authority had been given to Him.His Father had all authority and therefore had the right to give it to His Son. The Father had creative rights to the whole universe.The governments of this earth get their authority by way of vote or violence. 

It is not inherent authority. The only government on theearth that represents inherent authority is a monarchy. A king hasthe power and can give it to whom ever he chooses. All other governments are formed by casting a vote or by launching a revolution.In the final analysis, all human governments are substitutions for theideal, no matter how good these governments might be. Let us takea brief look at some of man’s attempts at government and structures of rulership. The most important one we will discuss will be the form of governing we call feudalism.

FEUDALISM

Feudalism describes a governing or ruling system that was established by virtue of the power of ownership. As a matter of fact,the authority in this system was called a “feudal lord,” meaning aland owner. During the early Middle Ages, the economic and social power of societies were related to agriculture; therefore, land was the key source of power. He who owned the land owned the power.When land is power, then who ever owns the most land controls everyone and everything. 

This is where the idea of “real estate” orig-inated. Land owners were the ones who were considered to possess real estate. The land owner was the “lord” of the land. Thus we find the word landlord used to describe those who owned land. Therefore, the primary pursuit of all who desired power wasland. Landowners were known as lords and eventually became“rulers” of their land. The more land they owned the greater their lordship, or rulership. Individuals who owned significant parcels ofland became known as “kings.” In other words, the prerequisite for becoming a king was the ownership of land. 

This is also where the idea of earthly kingdoms gets its birth. “Kingdom” was the wordused to describe the territory over which a local king, or land owner,ruled or exercised ownership right and authority. It is also important to note that because all the land was person-ally owned by the landlord, then private property was not possible;thus, all the people who lived on and worked the land did so at the pleasure and mercy of the king or landlord. 

Everything in the land,including animals, natural resources, and all other materials, were considered the personal property of the king or lord. In many cases, where the lord or king was kind and benevolent,the people who lived, worked, and served on his land enjoyed the benefits of his kindness. And because they made his land productive and added prosperity to him, he provided, protected, and cared for them. 

This is why a good king tended to attract many to his king-dom. Feudalism as a concept of governing was a derivative of the original government established in the Garden of Eden under the first man, Adam, who himself was made the land lord of the earth.God’s original plan was a feudal system where all men served as kings and lords of the earth, ruling not humans but the animal,plant, bird, and water kingdoms.

However, in cases where the landlord or king was not kind and merciful, the result was abuse and oppression of the people by virtue of noble status. Who ever owned the land controlled those who lived on the land. Feudalism is an illustration of the danger of putting the authority that belongs to the King of heaven into the hands ofungodly and unrighteous human kings and lords. When the culturemigrated away from agriculture to industry, the noble lords eventu-ally lost their power.

DICTATORSHIP

Dictatorship is the form of government derived from the con-cept of “divine authority,” which is built on the belief that certain individuals are chosen by the gods or by providence to rule the masses and exercise authority over the less fortunate or so-called“inferior” peoples. 

This is the form of governing we find in the bib-lical records and other sources such as the Egyptian pharaohs, who believed they were products of the gods and were destined to rule people by virtue of birthright. Dictatorships have emerged in every generation and continue todo so to this day. They come in many forms and titles, but the prin-ciple and results are the same. A dictatorship is government that concentrates its power and authority in the hands of one individual who wields absolute authority unrestricted by laws, constitution, orany other social/political factor.

Dictators are considered despots and usually are driven by per-sonal ambition or private interests. They focus in on themselves and their goals. Self-worship is also common in this form of governing.Historically, dictatorships have never succeeded for long, usually ending in tragedy and chaos. No dictatorship will survive forever. At some point, the people will revolt.The dictatorship is also a twisted attempt by man to reestablishthe original form of government established by the Creator in the Garden of Eden when He delegated total rulership and dominion control to the man. 

Adam was given absolute power, but the distinction was that his power and dominion were never intended to ruleover other human beings but over the animal, bird, plant, and water kingdoms. Whenever the attempt is made to dominate humankind through any form of dictatorship, the natural result is rebellion andresistance. This is natural and always will be. Dictatorship over humanity is not God’s original form of government. COMMUNISM As a form of government, communism is a combination ofthe first two types of governing. Communism is man’s attempt to control land and people by the exercise of dictatorship. 

This is why a communist state repossesses all private property andattempts to enforce productivity through oppression and coer-cion. It seeks to accomplish this by attempting to legislate loveand sharing, an approach that never succeeds because humannature cannot be forced to love or to care. These behaviors result from natural motivation and internal convictions. No law can accomplish that.It is my view that communism is man’s attempt to reestablish the Kingdom of heaven on earth as given to the first man Adam, but without the involvement of the source of creation Himself. Inessence, communism is an attempt to establish a kingdom without righteousness. 

One can find in the writings of Marx and Engels acertain sincerity as they sought to find a way to bring power to the people (proletariat) by wresting that power from the hands of the nobility (bourgeois). It was an attempt to take ownership of land away from the nobles and put it in the hands of the people. They believed in a dictatorship of the people. Great idea? Maybe. The only problem is that government is in the hands of people. Whe never man is involved, government will fail. Communism simply exchanged power by wresting it from the hands of the czars and placing it in the hands of a new set of dictators. 

SOCIALISM 

Socialism, a step child of communism, is another en deavor tobring the state closer to the needs of the people.It substitutes the state for the king and attempts to control society for the benefit of society. Like all the others, socialism is another failed attempt by man to govern himself. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the state loses its concern for the individual as it becomes more obsessed with its own power.This leads us to our final look at man’s attempt to govern himself. 

DEMOCRACY

Democracy has its roots in the writings of the Greeks and is viewed by many people (even those in the Western religions) as the perfect government. Plato called it the fairest of constitutions but did so only reluctantly because he saw weaknesses within democra-cy that would lead to its down fall. The rule of the people, by the peo-ple, and for the people is a fine idea. It is man’s attempt to get further away from despotism and tyrannical rule. 

Democracy as a principleis man’s reaction to all the other forms of government such as feu-dalism, dictatorship, communism, and socialism. A close study of the roots of western democracy will reveal thatit was a reaction and rebellion against a divine choice or feudal sys-tem of governing called a kingdom. In reality, America was built on rebellion against a kingdom. The founders and framers of the American concept of governing championed the cause of democra-cy and adopted the Greek ideas and refined them to accommodate their aspirations. America rejected a kingdom. 

America’s dream andguiding principles were independence, self-determination, and indi-viduality; but while these principles serve as the bedrock of Western democracy, they remain contrary to the Kingdom principles. Americans have never understood the potential power of a king and his kingdom because they were exposed to corrupt kings. Outof that fear they created a system of rule that would limit the power of a single man. The system of checks and balances was installed to guard against power and authority being consolidated into the handof one individual.This fear of totalitarianism and dictatorship is the engine that drives the motor of Western democracy, and unstably so. 

In the absence of the original perfect and ideal kingdom government con-cept, the concept of democracy is the best form of government invented by mankind and serves to protect him from his own defec-tive nature and character. However, despite the fact that democracy is the best civil form of governing in our stressful world of demigods, emocracy itself is plagued with defects that leave it wanting. The fundamental problem of democracy is its very foundation, power,and authority by majority vote.Democracy is the best form of civil government as we know it because of its basic tenets and because of the checks and balances of the system. 

It is also built on the premise and principle of the“majority rule” and the protection of individual rights. Democracy has served our nations well in that it has given voice to the people and provides opportunity for broad-based participation in the polit-ical process by the people of a nation. Its checks and balances sys-tem further protects the masses from monopolization of power byone or by the few. Despite its advantages and benefits, however, democracy does come with a few crucial defects. One such defect is its fundamental and major principle of “majority rule.” 

This defect is critical because even though it gives power to the majority of the people, at the sametime it places morality, values, and the standards for law at themercy of the majority vote, thus legitimizing the majority’s values,desires, beliefs, aspirations, and preferences. If the power of democracy is in the people, then “we the people”become the sovereign of our lives and corporate destiny, and thus become our own providential ruler and god. This is the reemergence and manifestation of the age-old philosophy of humanism.

Humanism is simply man becoming his own measure for morality,judgment, and justice that places man at the mercy of himself. So nomatter how educated man may become, he can lead himself only asfar as he goes himself. The record of history and the present state ofthe world gives evidence that man left to himself makes a poor god.Therefore, democracy without accountability to one greater than the people is an exercise in moral roulette. Simply put, democracy with out God is man’s worship and elevation of himself and his own intelligence. 

What a tragedy! Democracy cannot succeed with out God any more than com-munism can succeed without God. God is not subject to our poli-tics, nor can He be, but He has created His own political system and governmental structure which, as this book will demonstrate, is far superior to all forms of earthly government. From the Creator’s per-spective, life ispolitics, and He is the essence of life. In Him there is no distinction between government and spirituality. They are one and the same. The assignment given to the first man in the Garden of Eden was a political assignment given to a spirit being living in aflesh body. 

Therefore, in the context of the original biblical mandate,the concept of the separation of church and state or religion and government is a lofty idea that has no root in biblical logic or fact.The original biblical mandate provides no foundation for it. Everyone is religious in the sense that they bring to life theirmoral convictions no matter what their religious claim. We all are political and religious. There can be no separation. You cannot leg-islate a dichotomy between a man and his belief system. 

Legislation itself is the result and manifestation of a belief system and moral judgment. Therefore, democracy can succeed only where there is aclear accountability to a moral code accepted by the majority as being good, civil, and right, and which serves as the anchor andfoundation for national governance.In my country, the Bahamas, that moral code is recognized con-stitutionally and nationally as the biblical principles of the historicJudaic-Christian faith and the God of those Scriptures. 

This is stat-ed within the constitutional document and provides an authoritative reference for governing within our nation. Consequently, when the majority votes and the results are in keeping with the natural lawsand standards established in the biblical text, then the vote is con-sidered legitimate. On the other hand, when the majority votes inviolation of natural law and of the principles established by the bib-lical text, that vote or legislation becomes illegitimate.In essence, the problem with democracy rule of the people is that the vote of many can be the wrong vote. Another weakness of democracy is that it is not absolute. Its concepts and laws can blowlike the wind. 

It can be easily influenced by the changing culture.Because the citizens can be so easily manipulated by a shift in theculture and by the will of people at the top, they can be induced to abandon their rights and transfer them to those who rule over them.Plato knew that eventually the rule of the people would deterio-rate into the rule of the state. I predict with great sadness that even democracy, with all of its promises and aspirations for a good, civil,and just society, will not survive as a human government. When your best is not good enough, the only alternative is to look else-where for something better. There is a better alternative...and that isthe heart of this book. 

THE RETURN OF THE KING AND HIS KINGDOM 

What is this alternative? It is to return to the original governing concept of God the Creator, which is the kingdom concept. Of course, people who have lived in the context of a democracy or are public all their lives usually find it not only difficult but almost impossible to understand or accept easily this concept of a kingdom.Compounding the problem is the historical educational process that paints the concept of kingdoms in a negative light due to experi-ences with corrupt kings and kingdoms in the past.

As a matter of fact, to many people, in their limited understand-ing, a kingdom is simply a dictatorship in the hands of a family. If this is true, then the message of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago was the promotion and establishment of a dictatorship with Himself as the dictator. He called Himself a “King” and said He came to bring back to earth a “Kingdom.” According to this message, which was the only one He preached, the ultimate key to successful human earthly gov-ernment is the restoration of a King and a Kingdom on earth, albeita righteous, benevolent and good King. There is only One who canfit that role. It is the One who created us and designed each one of us with a unique purpose. 

We must bring back the King. This King cares for His citizens. His rule is a righteous rule.It is this ideal, original kingdom that the heart of all humanity seeks. All of mankind throughout history, and still today, is search-ing desperately to find that perfect kingdom. Man has tried every imaginable way to create a flawless government. What he has failedto understand is that the original Kingdom, established by the King,is what he has been searching for all along. 

The kingdoms of this world must accept the Kingdom of the Lord and of His Christ. Theoriginal and ideal King and Kingdom are superior to all other formsof government. This book will prove that point as we continue our journey to understand this majestic concept.Even within the Church we argue over government, not know-ing that there is only one government. We must come to understand the superiority of a kingdom over all other forms of government.The world needs a benevolent King. 

We have that King; we just don’t recognize Him. I said earlier that one qualification of a legiti-mate king is ownership of land, which automatically makes him alord. God, who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, is the ultimate Lord and owner of all things. Who makes God to be King and Lord?Nobody! He is King and Lord by right of creation. Creative rights giveHim inconte stable ownership rights to earth and the universe. Hecreated all things and that automatically makes Him Lord of all. Wedon’t give God the earth. 

He doesn’t need us to make Him King. We can only acknowledge Him as King. His original purpose and planwas to extend His invisible Kingdom of Heaven to earth through His offspring in His image mankind and to rule through man as a heavenly agency. In essence, with God’s Kingdom on earth, His terri-tory, through all mankind, we would be rulers under the Ruler. 

Once we are under the rule of this gracious, merciful, benevo-lent, loving, caring King, He takes personal responsibility for us, notas servants or serfs, but as family and royal children. This care of thecitizens by the king is a concept called “kingdom welfare” and describes the king’s personal commitment to look after the needsand wants of his citizens within his land. Therefore, the word wel-fareis a concept that can only be understood fully in the context of akingdom. 

Whenever we submit to a king and his kingdom, wecome under His welfare. Welfare is not a word that can be used in ademocracy.For many, the very word welfare paints negative pictures in their minds, and they believe it to be a societal curse. In the context of akingdom, however, welfareis a beautiful word and describes some-thing to be highly desired. It is a word that is used to express a king’s commitment to his citizenry. This is why in all true kingdoms the concept of prosperity and national social services is called “commonwealth.” Again, this concept can only be understood within the con-cept of a kingdom. 

In any of the other forms of government, no regime or person has ever been successful in effectively caring for“all” of the citizens.As a matter of fact, even under the best form of human govern-ment, democracy, there is the plight of the rich versus the poor, thehave’s compared to the have not’s, the extreme and unequal distri-bution of wealth, discrimination, racism, divisions, social classifica-tions, and ethnic segregation. History continually fails to show us agovernment that manifests the equality, harmony, stability, andcommunity that man has desired and sought after from the day ofthe fall of Adam. 

Even our best is defective. No government has beenable to take care of its people equally. In a true ideal kingdom, how-ever, all the citizens’ welfare is the personal responsibility of the king. This is why the original kingdom concept, as in the Kingdomof God taught by Jesus Christ, is superior to all other governments.Therefore, in a kingdom, the concept of “commonwealth” is alsovery important, and the word correctly describes the nature of the relationship the king has with his citizens and subjects. 

The wealth in a kingdom is common. Therefore, in a true ideal kingdom there isno discrimination or distinction between the rich and the poor, forin such a kingdom all citizens have equal access to kingdom wealth and resources provided by the benevolent king. In essence, the King’s interest is the welfare of the Kingdom and everything in it.If none of the human systems of government are adequate, howthen do we adopt God’s original kingdom concept into our world? Itbegins by understanding the kingdom concept of colonization 

PRINCIPLES 

1. Ninety percent of all the national and international prob-lems 

    facing our world today are the result either of gov-ernment or religion. 

2. The need for government and order is inherent in thehuman spirit 

   and is a manifestation of a divine mandategiven to mankind by 

    the Creator. 

3. Man’s need for some formal government structure is an outgrowth 

    of his need for social order and relationshipmanagement.

4. The mandate of the Creator for mankind was rulershipand 

    dominion.

5. Some governments are better than others, but allare inferior 

    to God’s governmentthe Kingdom of Heaven.

6. Feudalism as a concept of governing was a derivative ofthe 

    original government established in the Garden of Eden 

   under the first man, Adam, who himself was madethe 

   landlord of the earth.

7. Feudalism is an illustration of the danger of putting 

  theauthority that belongs to the King of Heaven into thehands of 

   ungodly and unrighteous human kings andlords.

8. A dictatorship is a government that concentrates itspower and 

authority in the hands of one individual whowields 

absolute authority unrestricted by laws, constitu-tion, 

or any other social/political factor.9. Communism is man’s attempt 

to control land and peopleby the exercise of dictatorship 

10. Communism is an attempt to establish a kingdom 

    with-out righteousness.

11. Socialism substitutes the state for the king and attempts to 

control society for the benefit of society.

12. Democracy is the best form of civil government as weknow it 

because of its basic tenets and because of thechecks and 

balances of the system.

13. One major defect of democracy is its fundamental prin-ciple 

of “majority rule,” which even though it gives powerto 

the majority of the people, places morality, values, andthe 

standards for law at the mercy of the majority, thus legitimizing

 the majority’s values, desires, 

beliefs, aspira-tions, and preferences.

14. Our best alternative is to return to the original govern-ing

 concept of God the Creator, which is the kingdomconcept.

Chapter Three

THEORIGINAL KINGDOM CONCEPT:
COLONIZATION OF EARTH ,

From our discussions thus far, two things at leastshould be perfectly clear at this point. First, everyperson on earth, without exception, is seeking akingdom. Consciously or unconsciously, every human activity andendeavor is directed in one way or another toward this pursuit.

And second, as we have just seen, the kingdom concept of govern-ment, the original and first governmental concept, is far superiorto any governmental system devised by man. The caveat, of course,is that such a kingdom be ruled by a righteous and benevolentking. Otherwise, a kingdom will prove to be no better than anyother system.

The inherent superiority of a kingdom over other systems ofgovernment is an especially difficult concept for many people in thewest. As I stated earlier, few westerners have ever lived under a king-dom and thus know little or nothing of how one operates. This dif-ficulty is even more acute for citizens of the United States whosenation, after all, was established in rebellion against a kingdom.Nevertheless, a kingdom ruled by a sovereign, righteous, andbenevolent king remains the best system of government humanity could ever hope for. The reason is simple: The kingdom concept is ofheavenly, not earthly, origin. Its appearance on earth is due to anoth-er concept that originated in heaven the concept of colonization.Simply stated, colonization is Heaven’s system for earthlyinfluence.

SEEING THE BIG PICTURE

In order to understand this, it is important to look at the bigpicture.We humans, divided as we are by religion, ethnicity, geography,national identity, and differing governmental systems andeconomies, have trouble grasping the overall picture that we are oneglobal village. Religious and cultural differences and territorial loy-alties often prevent us from seeing how much we truly have in com-mon with one another.

 At heart, we all share the same fears, hopes,dreams, and longings. We all share a common desire to be able tocontrol the circumstances of our lives. Consciously or not, we all aresearching for a kingdom in which all are equal, enjoying the samerights, benefits, liberty, security, health, and abundance lives withmeaning and purpose and fulfilled potential.In the midst of our myopic pursuit of self-advancement, we failto recognize that such a kingdom is available for the having. 

But wewill never see it until we step back to take in the big picture.When I studied art in college, one of the fundamental conceptsI learned is always to see the end first and then work my way back.In other words, a good artist sees the finished product in his or hermind before beginning to paint or sculpt or draw. That is what itmeans to get the big picture—to see the end from the beginning andkeep that end clearly in view throughout the creative process. Onlythen can the artist ensure that the finished product conforms to hisor her original vision or design. 

A casual observer of any given phase of the process often cannotmake any sense out of it because he or she lacks the big picture ofthe finished product that is in the mind of the artist. A few brushstrokes on a canvas may mean nothing to someone watching thepainter, but a good artist will know exactly what he is doing. He willknow exactly where he is going and how to get there because healready sees the end result in his mind. He sees the big picture. 

That is why you should never judge an artist while he is working. It is onlyin the finished product where his full vision and intent can be seen.Whether you are painting a picture, carving a sculpture, orbuilding a house, it is critical to keep the big picture the finishedproduct clearly in view. Otherwise, your original dream or visionwill never be realized, and you will end up with something quite dif-ferent from what you intended.The biggest problem in our world today, including the religiousworld, is that we are so preoccupied with the phases that we cannotsee the big picture. We are so caught up with our own little part and with fighting and arguing with everybody else over their littlepart that we have lost sight of our purpose. The most importantthing in life is the big picture. 

But all we have are snapshots.Somewhere along the way humanity lost the big picture of our pur-pose, and all we were left with were tiny snapshots that provide onlya narrow and very misleading impression of the whole. Long ago welost the end of our existence. Now all we have to work with are dis-connected means—futile pursuits with no significance. Purpose defines the big picture. In other words, the big pictureis the original purpose or intent of the artist or builder—the desiredend result. What was God’s purpose as the Artist who createdhumanity? What was the end result He desired? As Designer of thehuman race, what was God’s original intent? 

This is a critical issuefor us because without purpose, human life has no meaning or sig-nificance. And that is exactly what the philosophers of our day aresaying: Human life has no purpose or significance, so each of usmust create or derive meaning for our lives wherever we can find it. We have lost the big picture—God’s original intent for mankind—and without it our lives are nothing more than disjointed phases thatmake no sense.If our lives are to have meaning, we must recover the big pictureof God’s original intent for us. In the beginning, God undertook awonderful building project called the human race. Why? 

God’s orig-inal purpose in creating mankind—His big picture—was to extendHis invisible rulership to the visible world. He wanted to extend Hisheavenly country to another territory. His desire, then, was to estab-lish on earth a colony of Heaven.GOD’S BIG PICTUREColonization as a concept was not invented by man. It is not theproduct of any human kingdom or culture. Colonization originatedin the mind of God. It was His idea. God’s original purpose was toestablish a manifestation of His heavenly Kingdom on earth withoutcoming to earth Himself.A colonizing authority, such as a king, does not have to be pres-ent physically for colonization to occur. 

The mere presence of theinfluenceof that authority is sufficient. As long as God could extendHis kingly governing authority over the earth through delegatedrepresentatives, His influence would hold sway here without thenecessity of His physical presence.God’s original intent was to extend His heavenly governmentoverthe earth, and His plan for accomplishing this was to establisha colony of heaven onthe earth. This was God’s big picture. TheKing of Heaven has a big agenda, bigger than national or interna-tional affairs. His is an inter-realmagenda. 

God deals with inter-realm affairs, the relationship between the invisible realm of Heavenand the visible realm of earth. His plan was to connect these twothrough colonization. However, God was not content merely to establish His influence on the earth; He wanted to take some citi-zens out of heaven and put them on earth to establish the colony.How did He accomplish this? Let’s examine some statementsfrom the Bible, which is the constitutionof the Kingdom of Heaven.Like any other constitution, the Bible lays out the laws, principles,and characteristics that define God’s Kingdom. 

Consider first theopening words of this constitution—its “preamble”:In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth(Genesis 1:1).This opening statement establishes God’s universal kingship bydivine right of creation with absolute authority to do whatever Hepleases. A little further down we find earth’s “colonial charter”:Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Ourlikeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and thebirds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, andover all the creatures that move along the ground.” So Godcreated man in His own image, in the image of God Hecreated him; male and female He created them. 

Godblessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increasein number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fishof the sea and the birds of the air and over every livingcreature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:26-28).With these words God, the King and Lord of Heaven, declaredHis colonial intent. This colonial charter delineated the purpose anddefined the parameters of the colony. It also designated the personswho received responsibility for carrying out the King’s desire.Notice that this statement says nothing about religion. Thischarter is not a religious declaration; it is a government documentthat defines governmental intent and establishes governmentalauthority. 

So the King, in this one statement, declares His big pic-ture—to create some beings just like Himself, place them on the earth, and let them rule it for Him as vice-regents of His heavenlygovernment. This was His plan and His purpose for creating man.Because the purposes of God are unchanging, this is still His pur-pose and plan today. HEAVEN’S CROWN LAND God created the earth as a place over which to extend His influ-ence, but He intended to do it through mankind, not Himself. 

Hedesigned man to be a fit colonizer of the physical world He wantedto colonize. That is why we humans are so well suited physically forlife in this world. The Bible says that God created man “from the dustof the ground” (see Gen. 2:7). Scientific evidence confirms this. Ourbodies are made of the same stuff as the earth. Before God createdus, He fashioned a physical world that would be a perfect environ-ment for us to fulfill our purpose and destiny. Then He formed ourphysical bodies from the same material. Man is a triune being justlike his Creator. 

We reflect His image even in our composition. Manis a spirit being after the nature and essence of his source, FatherGod; he lives in a body, which is his earth suit that allows him torelate to the physical environment; and he possesses a soul, which ishis intellect, will, and emotional faculties. We are suited for theearth as perfectly as God is suited for Heaven.As we discussed earlier, the foundation and qualification forkingship is rightful ownership of land. 

In a kingdom, the land is thepersonal property of the king, and it is this ownership right that des-ignates him as lord. In a kingdom, when referring to the physicalland, the territory is called “crown land.” This implies the land isproperty of “the crown,” referring to the king himself. By creativeright, the earth is heaven’s “crown land.” In a kingdom, all the landwithin the kingdom belongs to the king. Every square foot of terri-tory is his personal property—his “king-domain.” In a true kingdom,therefore, there is no such thing as private property owned by thecitizens; the king owns all. 

The Bahamas, where I live, was once part of the UnitedKingdom of the British Empire. When the British seized theBahamas from the Spanish, all 700-plus islands immediately becamethe personal property of the king of England. They did not becomethe property of the British government; there’s a difference. Theseislands became the personal property of the British sovereign. All ofus who grew up under that arrangement understood that all the landwas known as crown land, meaning it belonged to the one who worethe crown.

 As a matter of fact, during those years, it was not uncom-mon for the king or queen of England to give an island as a birthdaypresent to a son or daughter or niece or nephew. Since the islandswere crown land, the monarchs, on their own prerogative, couldgive them away at any time to anyone they wished as personal gifts.As a matter of fact, this land could be given to any citizen as a per-sonal gift of the government at the authority of the king, and manypeople in our colony received large parcels of land for personal use.The same is true in God’s Kingdom. 

God owns the earth andeverything on it; the earth is His crown land. As an ancient poetwrote:The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world,and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas andestablished it upon the waters (Psalm 24:1-2).Because God owns the earth, He can do with it however Hepleases. And it pleased Him to give it to man. Again, in the words ofthe ancient poet:The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth Hehas given to man (Psalm 115:16).Don’t make the mistake of equating this with ownership.

 Crownland given to someone by the king remains crown land. At any timethe king can take it back and give it to someone else. That is theking’s prerogative. So when God “gave” the earth to man, He did not relinquish ownership. We possess the earth as a trust, as stewards,as “kings” under the High King of Heaven. The King gave us domin-ion over the earth, not as owners but as vassal-kings to extend Hisheavenly government to the earthly realm. He gave us rulership, notownership. We have the privilege to rule the earth, and with thatprivilege also comes the responsibility of wise and righteous man-agement. 

And we are accountable to the King for how we manageour domain.It is also on this prerogative of Kingship and Lordship that Godcould, without the permission of its current inhabitants, promiseAbraham the land of Canaan as a birthright. Today we see this understanding of crown land applied in thenation of Israel. The ancient Jewish law handed down throughMoses stipulated that no property sales in Israel were permanentbecause the land belonged to God:The land must not be sold permanently, because the landis Mine and you are but aliens and My tenants.Throughout the country that you hold as a possession,you must provide for the redemption of the land(Leviticus 25:23-24).

Israelites were free to occupy their own plot of land, develop it,cultivate it, live off of it, and even pass it on to their heirs. They werenot to sell it, however, especially to non-Israelites. If financial cir-cumstances necessitated selling the property to a fellow Israelite, thelaw made provision for the land to be returned. Every 50 years Israelcelebrated a Year of Jubilee, during which time any land that hadchanged hands since the previous jubilee year automatically revert-ed to the original possessor.In Israel today, a similar principle is in effect. When youngcouples in Israel marry, the Israeli government provides or assiststhem with their first house. Why? 

Because there is no private own-ership of property in Israel. Officially, the land belongs to God The principle here is that in a kingdom, living on and using theland is a privilege, not a right. This practice reflects a kingdom consciousness that we all needto cultivate. It is critical for our understanding of the Kingdom andhow it works that we recognize that the whole earth is Heaven’scrown land and that we are merely “aliens” and stewards of God’sproperty. 

GOD’S COLONIAL INTENT

God never does anything to no purpose. From the very begin-ning, God’s intent for the earth was that it be colonized. Isaiah, anancient scribe and spokesman for the King, wrote:...He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fash-ioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not cre-ate it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited... (Isaiah45:18).Our presence on earth was a colonial decision by our King. 

Hecreated this planet as new territory, fashioned us out of the samematerial, planted us here, and issued the colonial charter giving usdominion. We own nothing but have access to everything, as long aswe operate within the parameters of the governing principles theKing has established for His Kingdom. This is what it means to be acolony of Heaven.The concept of colonization is the most important componentof a kingdom that we must understand or else it will be impossibleto fully grasp the essence of the message of the Bible, the prophets,and the focus and priority of Jesus Christ. 

It is the misunderstand-ing or ignorance of this kingdom concept of colonization that hasproduced all human religions and sects. Christianity as a religionis itself a product of this misunderstanding. The primary purpose motive, plan, and program of God the Creator was to colonizeearth with Heaven.Understanding the concept of colonization is key because oncewe understand what God intended, we will understand what God isdoing. He put people on this planet for the purpose of expandingHis influence and authority from the supernatural realm to the nat-ural realm. A colony, by definition, is populated by people who orig-inally came from another place. 

It is an outpost inhabited by citizensof a faraway country whose allegiance remains with their home gov-ernment. Stated another way, a colony is “a group of emigrants ortheir descendants who settle in a distant land but remain subject tothe parent country.”1Colonization involves citizens of one country inhabiting foreignterritory for the purpose of influencing that domain with the cultureand values of their native country and governing it with the laws oftheir home government. For example, the message of Jesus as statedin His mission statement recorded in Matthew 4:17, “...the kingdomof heaven has arrived” (author’s paraphrase), would indicate that thefirst colony of Heaven had returned to earth through Him. 

As citi-zens of heaven, we inhabit the earth for the purpose of influencing it with the culture and values of Heaven and bringing it under thegovernment of the King of Heaven.Paul of Tarsus, a first-century ambassador and colonizer for theKing of heaven, described the King’s colonial intent this way:...to make plain to everyone the administration of thismystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, whocreated all things. His intent was that now, through thechurch, the manifold wisdom of God should be madeknown to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlyrealms, according to His eternal purpose which Heaccomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:9-11). 

God’s intent was to plant a colony of His citizens on the earth tomake His “manifold wisdom”—His heart, mind, will, and desires—known to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” Inother words, to the spirit world. His purpose in colonizing earth wasto show the spiritual powers of darkness how beings created in Hisown image could be planted on the earth and bring in the govern-ment and culture of Heaven so that in the end, the earth would lookjust like Heaven.In summary: 1. A colony is a group of citizens established in a foreign ter-ritory to influence that domain for their home govern-ment. 2. A colony is a foreign territory inhabited by citizenscharged to influence that domain with the culture andvalues of their government. 3. A colony is the presence of a distinct cultural citizenry ina foreign territory governed by the laws and culture oftheir home government.Such is the concept of kingdom colonization.

UNDERSTANDING KINGDOM CONCEPTS

Studying the concept of kingdoms is important for a couple ofreasons. First, because most of us today, particularly in the west,have never lived in a kingdom, the concept is completely foreign tous. We simply do not know what it is like to live under a king. This might not be a problem were it not for the second reason for study-ing the Kingdom: God’s government, the government of Heaven, is akingdom, and God is the King. 

And because His Kingdom extendsthrough all creation, encompassing both the supernatural and thenatural realms, it covers us also, which is why we need to understandit. A third and critical reason to study and restore this concept of kingdom is because the Bible is not about a religion or an organiza-tion but a King and His Kingdom. Therefore, in order to correctlyunderstand, interpret, and apply the Scriptures, knowledge of king-doms is necessary. 

The kingdom is the oldest of all forms of government and theonly one that is of divine origin. God “invented” the kingdom con-cept and established it first in Heaven. Simply stated, a kingdom issimply a domain over which a king has rulership. Heaven was thefirst domain that God created. Although invisible, it is a very realplace, even more real than what we call reality. The natural camefrom the supernatural; therefore, the supernatural is always morereal than the natural. Heaven is more real than earth, even thoughwe cannot see it with our physical eyes. In the beginning, God estab-lished a kingdom as the governmental system for ruling the super-natural realm of Heaven.Once His Kingdom was established in Heaven, God desired toextend it to another realm. With this end in mind (the big picture) Hecreated a visible, physical universe with billions of stars, including theone we call Sol, the sun around which revolves this planet we callEarth. 

The King chose this planet specifically as the location of HisKingdom colony in the natural realm. He created it for that purpose.Then He placed on it human beings created in His image to run thecolony for Him. In this way, God also established the first earthlykingdom, which was merely an extension of His Kingdom in Heaven.

Through rebellion against the King, however, man lost his ruler-ship. We have been trying to get it back ever since. Even though welost our earthly kingdom, we still retain the original kingdom ideathat the King implanted in our spirit. We are searching for theKingdom all the time, but without God we can never find it becauseit is from Him.In our Kingdom search through the ages, man has developedand experimented with many different systems of government, aswe saw earlier in this chapter. Every one of them, including those we call kingdoms, are defective because mankind is defective. 

But theyall are driven by our desire to regain and restore the original Kingdom. This is not a “utopian” fantasy. In the beginning, Godestablished utopia in heaven and then extended it to earth. Ourutopian dreams are simply expressions of our yearning to regain theKingdom we once had but lost.According to the “colonial charter” stated in Genesis 1:26 thatwe looked at earlier, man originally was given an earthly kingdom torule over, which was perfect. Adam and Eve were overlords of thephysical domain, corulers who themselves were ruled only by God,their Creator-King. 

They were His people, and He was their God;there was no intermediary rulership.Human kingdoms, which at best were but dim and flawed reflec-tions of God’s Kingdom, had citizens who were also subjects of theking, meaning that they were “subject” to the king’s personal ambi-tions, goals, whims, and desires. 

God’s Kingdom is different. In theKingdom of God there are no subjects, only citizens but every cit-izen is a king (or queen) in his or her own right. This is why the Biblerefers to God as the “King of kings.” He is the High King of Heavenwho rules over the human kings He created in turn to rule over theearthly domain.THE KINGDOM IS HEREAdam and Eve’s rebellion cost them their kingdom. Chapter 3 ofGenesis relates the sad story of how the human pair fell victim to thelies and deceptions of the serpent, which embodied the prince ofdarkness, that fallen angel known as satan or lucifer. With Adam andEve’s abdication, lucifer seized control of their earthly domain as abrazen, arrogant, and illegal pretender to the throne.Immediately the King of Heaven put in motion His plan torestore what man had lost.

 And what did man lose? A kingdom.Adam and Eve did not lose a religion because they had never had a religion; they had a kingdom. So when God set out to restore whatthey had lost, He set out to restore a kingdom, not a religion.Religion is an invention of man, born of his efforts to find God andrestore the kingdom on his own. But only God can restore the king-dom man lost.After the disaster in Eden, the King confronted His rebelliouscorulers and their deceiver and addressed each one in turn. Ofgreatest interest to us in this context is what the King said to the ser-pent, because it has kingdom implications:I will put enmity between you and the woman, andbetween your offspring and hers; He will crush your head,and you will strike His heel (Genesis 3:15).

Referring to the woman’s “offspring” by the singular pronoun“He,” indicates that the King was speaking of one specificoffspring—one who would strike a fatal blow against lucifer and his schemes by“crushing” his head. As the rest of Scripture makes abundantly clear,this one specific offspring appeared thousands of years later as theman Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was the Son of God embodied inhuman flesh.When Jesus appeared on the scene in real, space-time history,He brought a message not of a religion, new or old, but of theKingdom:From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for thekingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).These are the first recorded words of Jesus. The phrase “thattime” refers to the arrest of John the Baptist, a prophet whose mis-sion was to announce the arrival of the King. Now the King Himselfwas on the scene, and He was announcing the arrival of the Kingdom.This was the only message Jesus preached. 

Search all four of the NewTestament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you will find that Jesus always talked about the Kingdom. Everything He saidand did related to the Kingdom and its arrival on earth.Jesus said, “Repent” (which means to change your mind or adopta new way of thinking), “for the kingdom of heaven is near” (whichmeans, in effect, that it has arrived). In other words, Jesus was say-ing, “Change your way of thinking! The Kingdom of Heaven is here!I brought it with me!” When Jesus brought the Kingdom of Heavento earth, He brought also the promise of restoring to mankind thedominion over the earth that Adam and Eve had lost in Eden. 

Hebrought back our rulership.Before we could be fully restored to our Kingdom, however, thematter of our rebellion against God had to be dealt with. This rebel-lion is what the Bible calls sin, and it is universal in human nature, alegacy of Adam and Eve’s treason in Eden so long ago. Jesus’ death onthe cross paid the price for our rebellion so that we could be restoredto a right standing with God, our King, and be reinstalled in our orig-inal and rightful place as rulers of the earthly domain. The “gospel”message the “good news”—is more than the Cross. The Cross is thedoorway that gets us back into the Kingdom. The Cross of Christ,therefore, is all about Kingdom restoration. 

It is about restoration ofpower and authority. It is about regaining rulership, not religion.SONS, NOT SERVANTSWhy did God wait thousands of years from the promise inEden of Kingdom restoration to its realization with the coming ofJesus? He had to allow the course of human history to flow untilthe timing was right. In order for us to understand what we lostwhen we lost the Kingdom, much less understand kingdom princi-ples, God needed the right prototype as an example. Across themillennia, many human civilizations and kingdoms rose and felluntil finally a kingdom appeared that had everything God neededto show how His Kingdom was supposed to work. 

When theRoman Empire came to power, it had a concept of citizenship. It had a concept of lordship (ownership). It had a king and a domain.It practiced colonization. Rome had such an influence that wher-ever it advanced, that part of the world became like Rome. WhenGod saw Rome, He said, “That’s exactly what I want.”When the time was right, the King of Heaven sent His Son torestore His Kingdom on earth. Paul of Tarsus stated it this way:But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son,born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those underlaw, that we might receive the full rights of sons(Galatians 4:4-5).

The fullness of time has nothing to do with clocks but every-thing to do with seasons. When the season of history was right,when the Roman Empire had risen to serve as a living example,when everything was in place according to divine purpose, God sentHis Son into the physical world with the message that the Kingdomof Heaven had arrived. What was His purpose in restoring theKingdom? Not to give us a religion but to restore to us our “fullrights” as sons and daughters of the King.The King of Heaven wants sons and daughters, not servants.Religion produces servants. It revels in the spirit of servitude. Pleasedon’t misunderstand me. A servant heart is, as Jesus said, the key togreatness in the Kingdom of God (see Matt. 20:26-27). And He saidthat He Himself came to serve rather than to be served (see Matt.20:28)

. But this kind of service should always proceed from the placeof security in our knowledge that we are sons and daughters of theKing and simply are following His example. Servanthood in the reli-gious spirit, on the other hand, proceeds from a sense of false humil-ity and self-deprecation where one sees oneself not as a son ordaughter, but as a slave. Sons and daughters of the King see serviceas a privilege; religious people see it as an obligation.

 And thereinlies the difference. Sons and daughters serve willingly becausetheyare sons and daughters. Religious people serve grudgingly because they feel they have no choice if they hope to win the approval of theKing. Never confuse servingwith being a servant.Jesus came that we might “receive the full rights of sons.” This islegal language. There is not a bit of religion in these words. Theyrefer to legalrights and entitlements based on relationship of birth.We are sons and daughters of God. 

Sonship is our right by creation.Christ did not die to improve us; He died to regain and confirm us.The price He paid in His own blood was not to make us worthy butto prove our worth. He did not come to earth to enlist an army ofservants. He came to restore the King’s sons and daughters to theirrightful position—rulership as heirs of His Kingdom.If we are heirs and are destined to rule in our Father’s Kingdom,then we had better learn to understand His Kingdom and how itoperates. We had better learn its principles and concepts. We mustlearn how to think, talk, and live like Kingdom citizens. 

TheKingdom is the most important message of our age and the answerto the dilemma of ancient and modern man. According to JesusChrist, everyone is trying all they can to find it and forcing their waythrough life to lay hold on it:Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God isbeing preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it(Luke 16:16b).Everyone of the over six billion people on earth are searching forthis Kingdom. This book is to help you and your fellow planetdwellers discover and understand it. With this end in mind, theremaining chapters of this book will examine in detail key conceptsof the Kingdom of Heaven. 

PRINCIPLES 

1. Colonization is Heaven’s system for earthly influence.

2. God’s original intent was to extend His heavenly govern-ment over the earth, and His plan for accomplishing thiswas to establish a colony of Heaven on the earth.

3. By creative right, the earth is Heaven’s “crown land.”

4. The King gave man rulership of the earth, not ownership.

5. A colony is “a group of emigrants or their descendantswho settle in a distant land but remain subject to the par-ent country.”

6. As citizens of Heaven, we inhabit the earth for the pur-pose of influencing it with the culture and values of heav-en and bringing it under the government of the King ofHeaven.

7. God’s government, the government of Heaven, is aKingdom, and God is the King.

8. A kingdom is simply a domain over which a king hasrulership.9. In the Kingdom of God there are no subjects, only citi-zens—but every citizen is a king (or queen) in his or herown right.10. When Jesus brought the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, Hebrought also the promise of restoring to mankind thedominion over the earth that Adam and Eve had lost in Eden.

11. The King of Heaven wants sons and daughters, not servants.

12. Jesus came that we might “receive the full rights of sons.”