Chapter Four

KINGDOMCONCEPT(1)
UNDERSTANDING THEKINGDOM 
CONCEPT OFKINGS 

In recent times, it has been a popular notion to cel-ebrate the opposition against monarchies, and manyhave even suggested the eradication of the conceptof monarchies from our so-called modern or post-modern world. Popular uprisings against the remaining monarchies in the name ofthe pursuit of democracy have become the craze of today’s self-pro-claimed freedom fighters. In some cases it may be justifiable; inmany of the instances cited, these kingdoms are filled with contra-dictions, abuse, oppression, social extremes, and dictatorial admin-istrations. 

However, it must also be noted that many of thedemocracies in our world today are also plagued with the samedefects and shortcomings. In essence, the problem is not the king,the kingdoms, or even the form of government, but the defects inthe human nature that functions in any of these systems.Yet the kingdom concept is the only one presented, preached,promoted, taught, and established by Jesus Christ throughout Hisministry. His proposed solution to mankind’s problems on the earthis the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the earth. 

As amatter of fact, the message of the Bible and, more specifically, thefocus of Jesus was not a religion or, for that matter, any of the many subjects we have magnified and many have preached as “the gospel”or good news to the world. For instance, Jesus never preached as apriority public message subjects like faith, prosperity, giving, deliv-erance, or even His death on the Cross or resurrection as “thegospel.” But He repeatedly promoted and declared “the Kingdom ofGod and Heaven” as His principal message.

I am well aware that what I just said may be cause for much reac-tion, mental conflict, and religious resistance; but I would encourageyou to search and research the four Gospels for yourself and discov-er this surprising reality. Jesus also indicated that this message of the“Kingdom” would be His disciples’ message to their world.Jesus’ message of the Kingdom was foreshadowed in the OldTestament centuries before He was born in Bethlehem. 

Here are twoexamples. The first one indicates God’s motivation for delivering theslave clans of Israel from Egyptian oppression:“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 akingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the wordsyou are to speak to the Israelites (Exodus 19:5-6).In the second example, we see the Old Testament Messianicpromise declared by the prophet Isaiah, strongly indicating the gov-ernmental aspects of the Kingdom mandate: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the gov-ernment will be on His shoulders. 

And He will be calledWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government andpeace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throneand over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it withjustice and righteousness from that time on and forever.The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah9:6-7). Jesus’ message was clearly kingdom focused and not religiouslymotivated: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for thekingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their syna-gogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, andhealing every disease and sickness among the people(Matthew 4:23).Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom ofheaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will becomforted (Matthew 5:3-4).For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses thatof the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will cer-tainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your king-dom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven(Matthew 6:9b-10).But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and allthese things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching intheir synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdomand healing every disease and sickness (Matthew 9:35).As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heavenis near” (Matthew 10:7). But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then thekingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28).He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdomof heaven has been given to you, but not to them”(Matthew 13:11).When anyone hears the message about the kingdom anddoes not understand it, the evil one comes and snatchesaway what was sown in his heart (Matthew 13:19a).

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heavenis like a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matthew13:24).He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven islike a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in hisfield” (Matthew 13:31).He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heav-en is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a largeamount of flour until it worked all through the dough”(Matthew 13:33).

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joywent and sold all he had and bought that field (Matthew13:44).Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant lookingfor fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he wentaway and sold everything he had and bought it (Matthew13:45-46). Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that waslet down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish(Matthew 13:47).I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatev-er you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what-ever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew16:19).I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will nottaste death before they see the Son of Man coming in Hiskingdom (Matthew 16:28).

And He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change andbecome like little children, you will never enter the king-dom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself likethis child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”(Matthew 18:3-4).Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who want-ed to settle accounts with his servants (Matthew 18:23).For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who wentout early in the morning to hire men to work in his vine-yard (Matthew 20:1).Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectorsand the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of Godahead of you” (Matthew 21:31b).

The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wed-ding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, butthey refused to come (Matthew 22:2-3).Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hyp-ocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enterwho are trying to (Matthew 23:13). And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in thewhole world as a testimony to all nations, and then theend will come (Matthew 24:14).

Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, youwho are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, thekingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”(Matthew 25:34).After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and villageto another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom ofGod (Luke 8:1).And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God andto heal the sick (Luke 9:2).Then He took them with Him and they withdrew by them-selves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learnedabout it and followed Him. 

He welcomed them and spoketo them about the kingdom of God, and healed those whoneeded healing (Luke 9:10b-11).I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will nottaste death before they see the kingdom of God (Luke9:27). Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has beenpleased to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).And I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father con-ferred one on Me (Luke 22:29).Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, Myservants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. Butnow My kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. 

Jesus answered, “Youare right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason Iwas born, and for this I came into the world, to testify tothe truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me”(John 18:37).My purpose for listing all of these statements is to show andemphasize the preoccupation Jesus had with the kingdom conceptrather than a religion. Note in particular the last statement above,where Jesus declares Himself a “king” and not a president or primeminister or mayor. This is why it is necessary and essential that werediscover and desire to understand the Kingdom as a concept anda reality. It is the foundation of God’s plan for mankind.

The original ideal kingdom concept is distinct from the earthlyversion even though it contains many of the same components andconcepts of all kingdoms. Despite the many failed kingdomsthroughout history, the questions still arise: Why did God choose akingdom and not a republic? Why did God choose a kingdom andnot a democracy or socialism? What are the benefits of being in akingdom over a democratic republic or a communistic regime? Whyis a kingdom better than a democracy or socialist form of govern-ment? Why is Jesus a King and not a president? What exactly is a kingdom? Very simply, a kingdom is the gov-ernment of a king. 

More specifically, a kingdom is the sovereignrulership and governing influence of a king over his territory,impacting it with his will, his intent, and his purpose, manifesting aculture and society reflecting the king’s nature, values, and morals.A kingdom is the governing impact of a king’s will over a territory ordomain, his influence over a people, and a government led by a king. Therefore, the very heart of any kingdom is its king. This defini-tion perfectly describes the relationship of God to the heavenlyrealm. 

Heaven exists because of the creative activity of God.Throughout its entire expanse, it is infused with His presence, char-acter, and authority. There is no corner of heaven where His will isnot accomplished. In every way God is the unrivaled and unequalledKing of Heaven.The same was true in the natural realm when God extended HisKingdom authority to the earth through the man and woman Hecreated in His image and released to rule in His name. 

They rebelledagainst the King’s authority, however, and lost their rulership.Control of the earthly realm then passed temporarilyto a demonicusurper until the day in the King’s sovereign plan when it would berestored to its rightful ruler.In the fullness of time, Jesus came to the earth and reestablishedthe Kingdom. Because only a king can establish a kingdom, this actalone reveals that Jesus Christ is the King. The Bible, the constitu-tion of the Kingdom of Heaven, leaves no doubt as to the Kingshipof Jesus. 

Perhaps the clearest statement of all is found in the 18thchapter of the Gospel of John where Jesus, mere hours before Hisexecution by crucifixion, has a revealing exchange with PontiusPilate, the Roman governor of the province of Judea. Falsely arrest-ed, illegally tried, and wrongfully condemned for “blasphemy” by theJewish religious authorities in Jerusalem, Jesus now stands beforePilate for judgment. Pilate has heard the accusation that Jesus claimsto be a king. So the governor asks Him directly: “Are you the king of the Jews?”...Jesus said, “My kingdom isnot of this world. If it were, My servants would fight toprevent My arrest by the Jews. 

But now My kingdom isfrom another place.” “You are a king then!” said Pilate.Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. Infact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came intothe world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side oftruth listens to Me.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked (John18:33b,36-38a).Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and “My kingdom isfrom another place,” clearly implying that He was a King. He wasspeaking of the Kingdom of Heaven. Notice that Jesus said that HisKingdom was not ofor fromthis world; He never said that it was notinthis world. 

His Kingdom on earth originated in Heaven.When Pilate pressed further, Jesus plainly said, “I am a king.” H ethen said, “I came into the world to testify to the truth.” What truth?The truth that He was a King with a Kingdom. What could be clear-er than that? Testifyis a word often used to describe what a witnessdoes in a courtroom—testifying or avowing to what he has seen orheard. The original Greek word employed here has an even deepermeaning.

 It is a word of experimentation from the laboratory andmeans to verify or validate. Essentially, Jesus said to Pilate, “I cameto earth because I am a King, and I will prove it by putting it to thetest. I testify to the truth that a King is here, a Kingdom is here, andthis Kingdom is available to anyone who wants to come in.”The last thing Jesus said to Pilate was, “Everyone on the side oftruth listens to Me.” A more accurate rendering would be, “Everyoneon the side of truth hearsMe.” This is a very important pointbecause it has to do with “connecting” to Jesus’ message.

Everywhere I go teaching the message of the Kingdom, I find that itresonates with people from all religions and walks of life. God creat-ed us for kingship for dominion and inside each of us is a latentkingdom consciousness striving for expression. This consciousness reveals itself in various ways, such as in our natural resistance tobeing ruled or controlled by any other person and our continuallonging to control the circumstances of our own lives. That is whatfinally connected me to Jesus—when I realized that He could teachme how to run life, not let life run me. I learned that I could controlmy own circumstances.

The search for power is a natural human drive. We all seekpower over things and over circumstances, and that is what theKingdom of Heaven promises. Jesus said, “I will testify to the truthof the Kingdom, and when you hear Me, you will believe it. You willconnect with what I have to say because it will resonate with thekingdom consciousness that is already in you.” We connect with theKingdom message because it addresses the most deep-seated long-ing of our heart—our longing to be kings.While it is natural to desire power over things and circum-stances, desiring power over people is another matter. 

Seeking toinfluencepeople, public opinion, and public policy through king-dom principles is always appropriate, but pursuing despotic poweroverother people for personal gain at their expense is a corruptionof our natural quest for power. Desiring to control our own life isone thing; desiring to control others’ lives is another.THE KING IS CENTRAL TO HIS KINGDOMIf we were created for kingship, and if Jesus came to earth torestore the kingship we lost, and if we want to be prepared to resumeour rightful place as kings, then we had better learn what it meansto be a king and how a king relates to his kingdom. 

This is importantboth for teaching us how to think, speak, and behave like rulers andfor teaching us how to relate properly to God, our High King. A trueking is not a dictator.The first thing we need to understand is that a king is the cen-tral component of his kingdom. A king embodies the essence of his kingdom; the kingdom is the king. Without the king, there is nokingdom. The land and the people may still be there, but unlessthey are ruled by a king, they are not in a kingdom. 

This is one pri-mary distinction between a kingdom and a democratic state. In ademocracy, the country’s leader, whether called a president or aprime minister or whatever, is notthe center of the government.The constitution is. Presidents and prime ministers change everyfew years, but the constitution provides continuity of law and gov-ernment. In a kingdom, the king is the constitution. His word isthelaw.

 His word isthe government.Second, a king is the ultimate and only source of authority inhis kingdom. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the authority of God theKing is exclusive and absolute. His word is law and His will is car-ried out even to the farthest reaches of His realm. And God’s realmis infinite.The sole and absolute authority of the King is what distinguish-es the Kingdom of Heaven from religion. Religious people give lipservice to God’s kingship but then turn around and debate, question,and even amend His laws. 

For example, the King says that homosex-ual behavior is an abomination (see Lev. 18:22), yet a gathering ofbishops who supposedly honor the King’s law install an openly andactively homosexual priest as an archbishop! In the Kingdom, theKing’s word is law. It is not open to debate, discussion, challenge, oramendment.While this may seem restrictive or even despotic to someone raised in a democratic environment, in many ways it actually relieves a lot of pressure. If you are under the King and someoneasks you, “What do you think about so-and-so?” you can defer to theKing’s authority: “What I think does not matter. 

I am bound to fol-low my King, and my King says this...” or “I agree with my King, andthis is what He says...”In a democracy, political leaders campaign, negotiate, compro-mise, and consult committees in an effort to reach a consensus for establishing law and policy. In a kingdom, the king speaks...andthat’s it; no debate or question. The authority of the King is like theslogan that began circulating years ago: “God said it, I believe it, andthat settles it.” Even better is the variation: “God said it and that set-tles it, whether I believe it or not.”Jesus demonstrated this kingly authority when He said numer-ous times, 

“You have heard...but Itell you...” (see Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28,33-34, 38-39, 43-44, emphasis added). The biblical account of thisoccasion records:When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowdswere amazed at His teaching, because He taught as onewho had authority, and not as their teachers of the law(Matthew 7:28-29, emphasis added).Jesus spoke and taught on His own authority. He did not relyon the thoughts, ideas, interpretations, or traditions of others.Why? Because He was a King whose authority was independentand sovereign.

This leads to a third point to understand about a king: The sov-ereignty of a king is inherent in his royal authority. The people do notmake a king sovereign; he is born sovereign. Jesus told Pilate that Hewas borna king; He did not receive His kingship—or His sovereign-ty—from the hand of men. Sovereignty means freedom from exter-nal control. As sovereign, a king is free to do as he pleases with noaccountability to anyone else in the kingdom. Otherwise, a king hasno true authority. No one has the authority to tell God what to do.God’s sovereignty is absolute. He is completely self-determining.

FOURTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A KING

A king is distinct both from a democratically elected leader,such as a president or prime minister, as well as from a dictator in a totalitarian state. Following are 14 characteristics of a king thatclarify that distinction.1. A king is never voted into power.His power is inherentfrom birth. Democratic leaders are electedto power;totalitarian dictators seize power; but a king is bornintopower.

2. A king is king by birthright.His kingship is not con-ferred by men. Elected leaders rule by the will of the peo-ple. Dictators rule through fear, repression, and coercion.A king rules because he is born to it. Jesus Christ wasborn a King. We do not make Him King; all we can do isacknowledge that He isKing.

3. A king cannot be voted out of power.Because the king-dom is his by birth, a king rules for life. A president isvoted out of office or departs due to term limits. A dic-tator may be brought down by a coup d’etat or popularuprising. Kingship, however, is a lifelong office. A humanking may be dethroned by force or revolution, but he cannever be voted out. The King of Heaven reigns by sover-eign right of creation. He will never be voted out ofpower. Nor will He ever be dethroned. Lucifer tried andfailed. Human empires have tried and failed and thenfallen themselves, as is the destiny of all regimes thatchallenge His sovereignty. 

He was King before this worldbegan, and He will still be King after it has passed away.In fact, Scripture makes this bold declaration:The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of ourLord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever(Revelation 11:15b). No act either of man on earth or of the spiritual powersof darkness will ever remove the King of Heaven fromHis throne.4. A king’s authority is absolute.That is why he is not apresident or a prime minister. 

Presidents must consultCongress, and prime ministers, Parliament. If the primeminister of the Bahamas makes a decision, the senate candiscuss it, the parliament may attack it, the media maymutilate it, and he may change his mind. Dictators, onthe other hand, while perhaps exercising absolute power(for a time), possess no legitimateauthority. This is whythey must use force and repression to stay in power. Butwhen a king speaks, he speaks with absolute authority—authority that is inherent to his kingship.

5. A king’s word is law.Because a king’s authority isabsolute, his word is law. No one can countermand hisorders, negate his pronounce-ments, set aside hisdecrees, or amend his statutes. David, an Israelite kingwho loved the King of Heaven with all his heart, had thisto say about his King’s law:The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Thestatutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the sim-ple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to theheart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving lightto the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether right-eous....By them is Your servant warned; in keeping themthere is great reward (Psalm 19:7-9,11).The King’s word is law. Great reward follows obedience.Disobedience brings severe penalties.

 6. A king personally owns everything in his domain.Presidents and other elected leaders do not own theircountries; they are citizens like everyone else. Dictatorsoften act as though they own everything, but whateverthey possess they acquire by fraud, theft, and corruption.A king, on the other hand, personally owns everything inhis domain. In fact, a kingdom is the only form of gov-ernment where the ruler owns everything and everyone.In the words of King David, once again:The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world,and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1).

The King of Heaven Himself declares:Every animal of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on athousand hills (Psalm 50:10).A king owns the people, the animals, the plants, the land,and the air around the land. He owns the value under theearth—the gold, the silver, the platinum, the diamonds,etc. He owns the soil and the seeds in the soil. A kingowns everything in his territory. That is why he is calleda lord. Lord means owner. We’ll discuss more on thisconcept in the next chapter.

7. A king’s decree is unchanging.In a democratic system,laws can be amended, revised, or revoked. Dictatorschange and even reverse their own decrees whenever itsuits them. They renege on their word all the time. But aking’s word is law. Once a king issues a decree, it cannotbe changed.Daniel, a faithful, God-fearing Jew in exile, was a highofficial in the court of Darius, a Medo-Persian king.When Daniel’s enemies plotted to destroy him, they persuaded Darius to issue a decree that for 30 days noprayers or petitions were to be raised to any god or any-one else except to the king himself. Violators would bethrown into a den of lions. This decree was a “law of theMedes and Persians, which may not be revoked” (Dan.6:8b NASB).

Catching Daniel in the act of praying to God in violationof the king’s decree (as they knew they would), Daniel’senemies took him to the king. Darius was trapped. Evenhe could not revoke his own decree! The king spent atormented, sleepless night while his trusted servantDaniel cooled his heels in the lion’s den. The Lord deliv-ered Daniel safely, and his enemies ended up with thelions instead.The point here is that a king’s decree, once issued, can-not be undone. The decrees of the King of Heaven arejust as permanent:The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of ourGod stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Jesus the King said:Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words willnever pass away (Matthew 24:35).8. A king chooses who will be a citizen. In a democracy,the citizens choose their leader while a totalitarian sys-tem treats its “citizens” as little more than tools of thestate. A kingdom operates in the opposite mannertheking chooses the citizens. Because his authority isabsolute, he determines the standards of citizenship inhis kingdom. The people do not vote for the king, but inessence, he votes for them. Jesus demonstrated this kingly prerogative as well when He saidto His closest followers:You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed youto go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Fatherwill give you whatever you ask in My name. 

This is Mycommand: Love each another. If the world hates you, keepin mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to theworld, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do notbelong to the world, but I have chosen you out of theworld. That is why the world hates you (John 15:16-19).Jesus chose them out of citizenship in the world andmade them citizens of His Kingdom with full benefits ofcitizenship. They no longer belonged to the kingdom ofthe world. Now, like Jesus, their Kingdom was fromanother place. Jesus does the same thing today for every-one who believes Him—everyone who accepts His mes-sage of the Kingdom.

9. A king embodies the government of his kingdom.This means that wherever a king is, his entire govern-ment is present. Whenever a king speaks, his whole gov-ernment is speaking. Whenever a king moves, thegovernment moves with him because he embodies thegovernment; the king is the government.When President Bush travels abroad, the authorityof theUnited States government travels with him because herepresents the government and the people. 

              The govern-ment itself, however, does not travel with him. It remainsin place and functioning in Washington. The govern-ment of a king, on the other hand, is wherever the kingis. A king and his government are inseparable. This ishow we can know that the Kingdom of Heaven is on earth; the Kingdom is here because the King is here.Jesus said:...if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For wheretwo or three come together in My name, there am I withthem (Matthew 18:19-20).and:... All authority in heaven and on earth has been given toMe. Therefore go and make disciples of allnations...teaching them to obey everything I have com-manded you. And surely I am with you always, to the veryend of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).The Kingdom of Heaven is here because the King ofheaven is here in the hearts and lives of His citizens whopopulate His colony here.

10. A king’s presence is the presence of his authority.When a king shows up, his full authority is present. Hisauthority does not reside in a place or in a document; itresides in him personally. This is why citizens of God’sKingdom colony on earth can act with kingly authority.Because the King is present, His authority is present also.

It was this present authority that Jesus had in mind whenHe said:I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beloosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).and: I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Sonmay bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for any-thing in My name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14).Kingdom citizens may always exercise kingly authoritybecause the King is always present with them.

11. A king’s wealth is measured by his property.The larg-er and richer in resources a kingdom is, the wealthier theking, because the king owns everything in his kingdom.Dictators become wealthy by stealing from the people.Democratically elected leaders may or may not be per-sonally wealthy, but they definitely do not own theircountry. 

This is one of the major distinctions between aking and other government leaders. Kings own every-thing in their domain by right of birth and kingship. As amatter of fact, property is so tied up with a king’s identi-ty that without it a king is not a king. We will discuss thismore thoroughly in Chapter Six.Why is wealth so important in a kingdom? So the kingcan take care of his citizens.

 A righteous and benevolentking does not amass wealth for himself but for the wel-fare of his citizens. This is why it is only in a kingdomwhere we truly find commonwealth; that is, the wealth iscommon to all the people.No kingdom is greater or richer than the Kingdom ofHeaven because it encompasses all that exists. And noking is wealthier than the King of Heaven because Heowns everything everywhere in both the natural andsupernatural realms. Consequently, no citizens of anygovernment are more prosperous or have greater welfarethan do citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven because allthe infinite wealth of that Kingdom is their commonwealth. 

12. A king’s prosperity is measured by the status of hiscitizens.If the citizens are poor, the king is seen as apoor king. If the citizens are prosperous, however, theking is seen as a wealthy king. Wealthy citizens make aking proud. 

That is why it is important for a king to makesure his people prosper. Jesus never preached prosperity.Why not? Because prosperity is a matter of Kingdombusiness. Anyone who becomes a citizen of the Kingdomof Heaven automatically prospers because the King ofheaven is a wealthy King—the wealthiest of all. And Heis also a righteous and benevolent King who is commit-ted to the fullest and greatest welfare of His people.

13. A king’s name is the essence of his authority.A kingcan delegate authority to anyone he pleases to act inhis name or on his behalf. This is often done by issuinga “king’s letter,” a royal edict signed by the king andbearing his official seal that authorizes the bearer toact on his authority. Anyone to whom the king’s letteris presented must treat the bearer as if he were the kinghimself.Nehemiah, another exiled Jew who was a contemporary of Daniel, was cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes. Hearing that Jerusalem had been destroyed, Nehemiahlonged to go there and rebuild the city. 

When the kinglearned of Nehemiah’s desire, he granted him permissionto go. He also issued letters instructing the keeper of theking’s forest to give Nehemiah all the material herequired and for the governors of the various provincesto grant him safe passage. Nehemiah carried the king’sname and, therefore, his authority (see Neh. chapters1–2). Citizens of the kingdom of Heaven have the same privi-lege. Jesus the King has issued king’s letters to all His people, delegating His authority to them. 

That is why theNew Testament says that Kingdom citizens are to pray inthe name of Jesus. It is why He promised to do anythingthat they asked in His name. There is nothing religiousor mysterious about this. It is simply a kingdom princi-ple at work. The King’s name carries the same authorityas the King Himself, and all who carry His name canoperate in His authority.

14. A king’s citizenry represents his glory. Any conscien-tious king wants his citizens to be happy, prosperous,and content because their status and quality of life reflecton him. The greater their prosperity and well-being, thegreater the glory and honor that rest on the king whoprovides for them so well. Citizens of God’s Kingdom aresupposed to show what their King is like by the way theylive, act, dress, walk, and talk. Kingdom citizens are toreflect the nature and character of their King, who isrighteous, just, benevolent, compassionate, and full ofglory. This is why there is no poverty in the Kingdom ofHeaven, no economic crisis, and no shortages. 

As KingDavid observed:The Lord upholds the righteous...I was young and now Iam old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken ortheir children begging bread (Psalm 37:17b, 25).The King of Heaven takes care of His citizens.Appropriating the riches of the Kingdom of Heavenmeans first of all understanding that the King ownseverythingand we own nothing; and second, that He cangive whatever He wants to anyone He wants wheneverHe wants. This is the kingdom concept of lordshipand isthe subject of the next chapter. 

PRINCIPLES 

1. A kingdom is the sovereign rulership and governinginfluence of a king over his territory, impacting it withhis will, his intent, and his purpose.

2. In the fullness of time, Jesus came to the earth andreestablished the Kingdom. Because only a king canestablish a kingdom, this act alone reveals that JesusChrist is the King.

3. Jesus said that His Kingdom was not ofthis world; Henever said that it was not inthis world.

4. Inside each of us is a latent kingdom consciousness striv-ing for expression.

5. We all seek power over things and over circumstances,

and that is what the Kingdom of Heaven promises.

6. A king is the central component of his kingdom.

7. A king is the ultimate and only source of authority in hiskingdom.

8. The sovereignty of a king is inherent in his royalauthority.

9. God’s sovereignty is absolute. He is completely self-determining.

Chapter Five

KINGDOMCONCEPT-2 
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM
CONCEPT OF LORD 

One of the most common words used in Scripture is theword lord. This word does not exist in democracies,socialist societies, or republics, except in the word land-lord, in reference to one who owns land. Landlord is the only com-mon remnant of kingdoms in modern governments and Westernsocieties. Yet this concept of lordis one of the fundamental princi-ples of a kingdom. 

Every kingdom must have a king, but it is also true that everyking is automatically a “lord.” It is this quality of lordship that distin-guishes a king from a president, a prime minister, a mayor, and agovernor. As a matter of fact, a king’s lordship makes him differentfrom any other kind of human leader. 

Lordship makes a king unique.In the last chapter we talked about a king’s sovereignty—how aking is free from external control and he can do whatever he pleas-es with accountability to no one except himself. A king’s sovereign-ty is absolute. He is neither voted into nor voted out of power;sovereignty is his by right of birth. The same is true of a king’s lord-ship. All kings are automatically lords So what’s the difference between a king and a lord? Lordship isonly one aspect of a king’s overall identity and status, but it is one ofthe most important ones. 

One way to put it is to say that kingrelatesto dominion, while lordrelates to domain. The word dominionrefersto a king’s authority—his power; the word domainrefers to the ter-ritory, the property, the geographical area over which his authorityextends. A king exercises authority (dominion) over a specific geo-graphical area (domain) and within that area his authority isabsolute.Without a domain there is no king. A king is a king only so far ashe has something to rule over. What good does it do to have author-ity if you have nowhere to exercise it? In that case, you really don’thave authority. The most you have is potentialauthority. 

Until youhave a physical domain over which to rule, your so-called “authori-ty” is little more than theory.If the word lordrelates to a king’s domain, then the lordship of aking is tied up in his territory. To put it another way, if kingship hasto do with authority, then lordship has to do with ownership. Let meexplain. If a king must have a domain in order to be a king, then alltrue kings must have and ownterritory. This is what we call thekingdom lordship principle. You cannot be a king unless you ownproperty. It is not the same simply to exercise rule and authorityover a geographical region. 

Presidents do that. Prime ministers dothat. Governors do that. But presidents, prime ministers, and gover-nors do not ownthe territory over which they rule, and therein liesthe difference. Kings personally own the physical domain overwhich they reign, and that is what makes them not only kings butalso lords. So king and property go together. And the word lorddefines the king’s identity as “owner” of his domain.As lord, a king literally and legally owns everything in hisdomain: the forests and the meadows, the mountains and the val-leys, the rivers and the streams, the crops and the livestock, eventhe people and the houses they live in. Everything in a king’sdomain belongs to him. 

Because of this, a king has absolute and unquestionable control over his domain. This goes back to aking’s sovereign authority. A king is sovereign by right of birth,but he is also sovereign by right of ownership.The fact of a king’s sole ownership of his domain carries a cou-ple of significant implications that are easily lost by people who havegrown up in a democracy. First, and rather obvious, is that if the kingowns everything, then no one in the kingdom owns anything. In atrue kingdom, there is no such thing as private property ownership.Kingdom citizens are stewards, not owners. 

They may occupy theland; farm it; mine its minerals, ores, and precious gems; build hous-es and places of business on it; and carry on all the other normalactivities of human communities; but they do all of these only by theking’s permission and good pleasure. Ultimately, everything belongsto him.Second, if the king owns everything, he can give anything to any-one at any time according to his own sovereign choice. In a democ-racy, if the prime minister or the president gives you property as apersonal favor, it is called corruption. 

But if a king gives you proper-ty, it is called royal favor. And no one can question it or protest itbecause as owner, it is his prerogative to do as he pleases. Not onlydoes a king possess the authority to distribute his property anytime,anywhere, to anyone, as much as he wishes, but he also can switchhis property from one person to another. He can take somethingfrom one person and give it to you, or he can take something fromyou and give it to somebody else.

Because a king’s dominion is so closely tied to territory, hiswealth is measured by the size and richness of his domain. That iswhy kings always want to expand their kingdom; they seek toincrease their wealth. Think about the British, French, and Spanishkingdoms of the last several hundred years. The kings of thoserealms dispatched ships and established colonies all over the world.Why? Because they wanted to enlarge the borders and fill the coffersof their kingdoms. The larger and richer their domain, the greatertheir reputation and glory. 

KING AND LORD

Although I have been speaking about lordship from the contextof earthly kingdoms, everything I have said so far applies with evengreater validity to the Kingdom of Heaven and its King. We havealready seen that God is the King of heaven and earth by divine rightof creation; He is King of all because He created all. And becauseevery king is automatically a lord, the King of all is also the Lord ofall; He owns everything because He made everything.The Bible, the constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven, plainlyidentifies God as King and Lord of all. One of the most commonHebrew words used to refer to God in the Old Testament is adonai,which literally means proprietor or owner. 

It is usually translated“lord.” The personal name for God, Yahweh, although difficult totranslate with complete accuracy, carries the same idea of master,owner, or lord.This biblical picture of God as Lord is further enhanced by thefact that in most Bible versions, the personal name Yahweh, wherev-er it occurs, is replaced with the word “Lord.” This is in keeping withan ancient Jewish tradition where devout Jews so respected andhonored God’s name that they would not even speak it or read italoud to ensure that they did not inadvertently violate the ThirdCommandment by misusing His name. Instead, they substituted theword adonai, or “Lord.”So over and over the truth is hammered home: God is theLord...God is the Lord...God is the Lord. 

This truth is reiteratedeven in the most basic confession of faith for a Jew, recited everymorning: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Lovethe Lord your God with all your heart and with all yoursoul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). So in this way the Jews were reminded every day that their Godwas Owner of all. This included Heaven and earth. An ancientHebrew poet expressed it this way:May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heavenand earth. 

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, butthe earth He has givento man (Psalm 115:15-16, empha-sis added).As Maker and Owner of heaven and earth, God could give anyportion of it to anyone He chose. And He chose to give the earth toman, not for man to be owner but ruler/manager, or steward. Hereare some additional references verifying God’s rights to Lordshipover the property of earth: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).

For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalmof praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated onHis holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as thepeople of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earthbelong to God; He is greatly exalted (Psalm 47:7-9).And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when Istretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelitesout of it (Exodus 7:5).O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all theearth! (Psalm 8:1a).

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You Ihave no good thing (Psalm 16:2). The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lordwill praise Him—may your hearts live forever! All theends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, andall the families of the nations will bow down before Him,for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over thenations (Psalm 22:26-28).The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want (Psalm23:1).Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancientdoors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is thisKing of glory? 

The Lord strong and mighty, the Lordmighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift themup, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—He isthe King of glory(Psalm 24:7-10).“The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,” declares theLord Almighty (Haggai 2:8).In the same way as the Old Testament reveals God as King andLord and Owner of all, the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ asLord and Owner of all. 

First of all, as we have already seen, Jesus came announcing the arrival and re establishment of the Kingdom of heaven on earth, something only the King Himself could do.And because a king is automatically a lord, this means that Jesus isLord also.In addition, the most common Greek word for “lord,” kurios, isapplied to Jesus repeatedly in the New Testament. Kuriossignifieshaving power. It also means one who possesses ultimate authority;master. Everything the Old Testament says about God as Lord, theNew Testament says about Jesus. The Lordship of Jesus is also by creative rights and was a naturalresult of His role in the creation of all things both seen and unseen.

In essence, we do not “make” Jesus Lord; He is Lord by creativeright, whether we acknowledge Him or not. In His preexistencebefore He came to earth, Jesus was identified as “the Word.” It wasin this dimension that He was the source of creation. Let us read therecord of His creative activity that gives Him Lordship rights:In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth(Genesis 1:1).And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light(Genesis 1:3).In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was withGod, and the Word was God. He was with God in thebeginning. Through Him all things were made; withoutHim nothing was made that has been made (John 1:1-3).The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John1:14).But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son,whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whomHe made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’sglory and the exact representation of His being, sustain-ing all things by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:2-3a).Here is ample evidence that Jesus as the eternal Word wasresponsible for the creation of the universe and for sustaining it. One familiar story about Jesus drives this point home. 

Only a week before His death, Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem, butHe intended to do it in a very specific way.As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphageand Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of Hisdisciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you,and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there,which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him,‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at adoorway. As they untied it, some people standing thereasked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” Theyanswered as Jesus had told them to, and the people letthem go (Mark 11:1-6).In this story, Jesus acted in His authority as Lord. 

There is noindication that He had prearranged this with the owner of the coltor that He asked anyone’s permission. As Lord of all, He owned thecolt anyway. Jesus just told His disciples, “Bring me the colt.” Whenchallenged, all the disciples had to say was, “The Lord needs it.” Thatwas all it took; the owners released the colt.In those days, animals such as that colt were valuable commodi-ties as beasts of burden and as transportation. 

They were like a caris to us today. So untying that colt was no small matter. The modernday equivalent would be as if Jesus had said, “Go down to the corner,where you will find a brand-new silver Mercedes sport coupe. Thekeys are already in it. Bring it here to me.” In the end, one word fromthe Owner of the colt was all that was necessary. The manager/stew-ard of the colt let it go.

Another New Testament passage also presents Jesus clearly asLord of all. It is found in a letter written by Paul, the Kingdom of Heaven’s ambassador to the Gentiles, to Kingdom citizens in the cityof Philippi:Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:who, being in very nature God, did not consider equalitywith God something to be grasped, but made Himselfnothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being madein human likeness. 

And being found in appearance as aman, He humbled Himself and became obedient todeath—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Himto the highest place and gave Him the name that is aboveevery name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shouldbow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, andevery tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to theglory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).Jesus Christ is King and Lord of all. 

LIVING UNDER A LORD 

It is the lordship aspect of a kingdom that makes living in a king-dom better than a republic or any other form of national administra-tion or rulership. Lordship in a kingdom protects the citizenshipfrom competition with their fellow citizens for national resources. It destroys such elements as jealousy, fear, deceit, and hoarding. In a true kingdom, the lord owns all resources and distributes the sameas he determines. 

Whenever he gives resources to a citizen, it isnever for ownership but for stewardship. Submission to a king aslord positions the citizen to receive from the king. From a kingdom standpoint, then, the most important confes-sion any of us could ever make is to declare, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”Ambassador Paul stated this explicitly in his letter to the believers inRome when he wrote If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believein your heart that God raised Him from the dead, youwill be saved (Romans 10:9).By “saved,” Paul means redeemed, bought back, salvaged,restored from the estrangement of our rebellion against God the King into a right relationship with Him. 

The key affirmation in that process is our acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord of everything,including our lives and our destiny.But if we say, “Jesus is Lord,” what does that mean in practicalterms? What does it mean to live under a “lord”? The only experi-ence most westerners have with a lord of any kind is with a landlord.If you now live or have ever lived in rental property, you know thatthe landlord is the landowner (or the landowner’s direct representa-tive who exercises the landowner’s authority, which amounts to the same thing), the person you pay rent to and to whom you are accountable for the way you treat his property. Why? Because youdo not own the property; the landlord does.Dealing with a land lord provides a small taste of what it wouldbe like to live all of your life under a lord. 

If you say, “Jesus is Lord,”you are acknowledging His authority over you as well as your responsibility to obey Him. There is no such thing as lordship with-out obedience. If He is Lord, you cannot say, “Lord...but,” or“Lord...except,” or “Lord...wait.” If He is Lord, the only thing you cansay is, “Lord...yes.”Jesus Himself reiterated this truth throughout His public ministry:If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself andtake up his cross daily and follow Me (Luke 9:23b).

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me isnot worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughtermore than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me(Matthew 10:37-38).Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go andbury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and letthe dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:21-22).If Jesus is Lord, He must receive first priority in your life. He isabove every other love and every other loyalty. He is above everygoal, dream, and ambition. 

You cannot be a disciple and say, “Lord,firstlet me...” He must be first...in everything. Otherwise, He is nottruly Lord of your life, regardless of what you say. Jesus said:Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what Isay? (Luke 6:46).You cannot call Him Lord and then start making excuses for notobeying Him. You can’t claim that He owns you and then go aheadand do whatever you please. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is nosuch thing as a “weekend citizen.” You do not follow Him one timeand not another depending on your preference. 

If Jesus is Lord, youcannot live for Him on Sunday and for yourself the rest of the week.Jesus is either Lord ofall, or He is not Lord atall. The Lordship ofChrist is a 24/7 proposition. There is no other schedule.Living under a Lord also means giving up all concepts of person-al ownership. This does not mean you have to sell your house or sellyour car or give away all your personal possessions. It does meanlearning not to take a proprietary view toward these things. 

TheKing of Heaven is a righteous and benevolent Lord who graciously allows us to use and fully appropriate His riches and resources andall good things. That is one of our rights as Kingdom citizens. Wecan enjoy all of these things without measure as long as we remem-ber who owns them. The moment we begin to think that they belongto us, however, we set ourselves up for trouble. If we think owner-ship is ours, we make ourselves a lord. This takes us out of alignment with the will and character of the King because in His Kingdomthere can be only one Lord.

What happens when we think of ourselves as owners? In ourdog-eat-dog culture it means we feel we have to fight for what weget, hoard what we have, and guard it anxiously from fear that some-one will take it away. And our neighbors do the same thing. We livein fear of economic downturns, inflation, downsizing, and neverhaving enough. This is not Kingdom thinking!In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no economic crisis and there are no shortages. 

With a King who owns everything, how couldthere be? When we relinquish our sense of ownership and acknowl-edge God as the Owner and ourselves as stewards, it relieves us ofthe pressure of having to worry about how we are going to make itbecause we are now depending on Him for our welfare. And He is abenevolent and generous Lord of infinite resources.Relinquishing ownership then also puts us into the position offull access to those resources. As we learn to give and receive andtransfer at His will, He shares with us freely and abundantly. But ahoarding sense of personal ownership that shouts, “Mine!” cuts usoff from those same resources. 

Which position would youratherbe in?Letting go of personal ownership also nourishes and releases agenerous spirit within us. If we are only stewards and not owners,we can give freely as the Lord has given freely to us, knowing thatHe, who has no limitations, can replace what we give to others. Hisreputation as King and Lord rides on how well He cares for His cit-izens and He will give special care to those citizens who reflect Hischaracter by giving as He gives.As a matter of fact, the best time to give is when things are tightpersonally because that is when you acknowledge that He owns evenwhat you don’t have. The greatest sign that you truly believe thatJesus is Lord is by how much you are willing to get rid of. You havelearned how to live under a Lord when you can give freely without hesitation, regret, or fear and say to the Lord of all with a joyful andwilling spirit, “It’s all Yours! It’s all Yours!” 

SEVEN POINTS IN SUMMARY 

In summary, here are seven fundamental principles of lordship. 

1//. A king personally owns everything in his domain. Thereis no private ownership in a kingdom. Everythingbelongs to the king. 

2//. Use of anything in a kingdom is a privilege. If the kingowns everything, then anything in that kingdom that weuse is not by right but by a privilege granted by the king. 

3//. A king can give or distribute anything to anyone in hiskingdom. Why? Because he owns it. He can shift thingsaround any way he pleases. This is why we need to holdonto “our” possessions lightly. They really are not ours.Sometimes the King will test us by telling us to give upsomething He has given us. Our response—obedience ordisobedience—will reveal whether or not we reallybelieve He is Lord. If we obey, we show that we believeHe owns everything and that He not only can replacewhat we give but even multiply it. 

4//. Submission to a king’s lordship means that we have noright to ourselves. That is why the greatest confession wecan ever make is the confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”The moment we say those words, we are acknowledgingthat we have no more right to our own life; it nowbelongs to Christ. We have put ourselves willingly underHis control and direction and are at His beck and call. Hecan help Himself to our lives anytime He wants. 5//. Obedience is acknowledgement of lordship. When weobey the King, we are simply saying to Him, “You areLord and my life is Yours. Your wish is my command.” 

6//. Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement of the King’sLordship. Daily thankfulness for food, water, clothing,shelter, and other daily needs reveals that we believe thatthe King owns all and is the source of all we have. 

7//. The word “Lord” can never be used with the word “but.”Those two words are impossible together. We cannot say,“I love You, Lord, but...” or else He is not Lord. We can-not claim Him as Lord and then make excuses for notobeying Him. The only appropriate word to go with“Lord” is “Yes!” Either He is Lord ofall, or He is not Lord at all.

PRINCIPLES 

1. All kings are automatically lords. 

2. Kingship has to do with authority; lordship has to dowith ownership. 

3. All true kings must have and own territory. 

4. As lord, a king literally and legally owns everything in hisdomain. 

5. If the king owns everything, then no one in the kingdomowns anything.

6. If the king owns everything, he can give anything to any-one at any time according to his own sovereign choice. 

7. A king’s wealth is measured by the size and richness ofhis domain. 

8. God, the King of Heaven, is King and Lord of all. 

9. Jesus Christ is King and Lord of all. 

10. The most important confession any of us could evermake is 

to declare, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” 

11. There is no such thing as lordship without obedience. 

12. If Jesus is Lord, He must receive first priority in your life. 

13. Jesus is either Lord ofall, or He is not Lord atall. 

14. Living under a Lord also means giving up all concepts 

ofpersonal ownership. 

15. In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no economic crisisand 

there are no shortages. 

16. Relinquishing ownership puts us into the position 

of fullaccess to all of Heaven’s resources. 

17. Letting go of personal ownership also nourishes andreleases 

a generous spirit within us.

Chapter Six

KINGDOMCONCEPT (3)
NDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM 
CONCEPT OF TERRITORY 

                        Essence of a kingdom is property. Land or prop-erty is the validation of a king. Land or property defines a king or queen and gives him or her right toclaim kingship. Remember that the first thing God created in the creation narrative was property...the earth. Earth was created before mankind was formed because it was necessary in order for man tobe a legitimate ruler. Man was created to dominate, and it is impos-sible to dominate nothing. Thus the mandate of God to Adam was to be king over a prop-erty. Every kingdom must have territory. The word kingdom derives from the phrase “king domain.” Domain refers to the property, theterritory over which a king exercises his dominion. A “kingdom,”then, is a “king’s territory.” Without territory, a king is not a kingbecause he has nothing to rule over. You cannot be “king” overnothing.Let me give you an example from history. The “discovery” of the new world by Christopher Columbus in 1492 set off a wave of west-ward expansion over the next several centuries. 

            The great maritimeempires of Europe such as England, France, Holland, Spain, and Portugal all competed for new territory in the Western Hemisphere. It was, in fact, the Portuguese monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella whosponsored and financed Columbus’ epic voyage.Portugal focused most of its attention on South America andeventually claimed the area that now comprises the nation of Brazil.For many years Brazil was a colony and a possession of Portugal.That is why to this day Brazilians speak Portuguese. It is a legacy oftheir years under Portuguese influence and control.The story goes that the son of the king of Portugal said to hisfather, “I want to be king.”“Well,” the king replied, “you can’t be.”“Why not?”“I am the king of Portugal, and we are in Portugal. 

               You can’t be king because I am still alive. When I am dead, then you will be king.”“But I want to be king now,” the prince said. “I don’t want to waitthat long.”So the king of Portugal shipped his son off to South America andmade him king over the territory of Brazil. The son was sovereign inBrazil but ruled as a regent under his father, the king of thePortuguese empire, which included Brazil. Whenever the father vis-ited his son in Brazil, the son became the prince again until hisfather left. Then the prince was again king. Whenever the son visit-ed his father in Portugal, he again became the prince until hereturned to his own domain. If the son wanted to rule as king, it was better for him to stay away from his father.That’s how kingdoms work. All kingdoms have territory, butthere can be only one sovereign to rule over it. More than one doesnot mean divided rule; it means revolt.

             This picture also illustrates the relationship between God, theKing of Heaven, and man, His regent on earth. Because God is aKing, and because a kingdom is a country ruled by a king and must therefore have territory, we can draw the conclusion that Heaven is a place. It is not some nebulous, mystical idea from the mind of man.Heaven is a real Kingdom with a real government. The fact that itsprimary realm encompasses the spiritual dimension of creation doesnot make it any less real.But the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven also takes in the natu-ral world. 

              God designed it this way when He created the earth and then fashioned man in His own image to rule it for Him. The sequence of events here is very important. God envisioned man to be a king in his own right, but a king is not a king unless he has ter-ritory over which to rule. So God prepared the territory first the earth and then brought forth man. God placed man on the earth and told him, “I am giving you dominion over this physical domain.You have authority over every acre of land and sea and over everycreature that inhabits the earth. 

             Rule it freely as My legal represen-tative.”God does not want to come here where we are personally, sothat we can retain our authority as earthly kings. This is also why Jesus is not anxious for us to go to the invisible country of Heaven because when we do, we are reduced to princes and princesses. He prayed that we would not be taken out of the world but be kept in itbut away from evil. The earth is man’s key to dominion power and his only legal territory for rulership. 

               A careful review of the model prayer of our Lord Jesus reveals that it specifically identifies the location of the Father and King of Heaven: “Our father who is in Heaven....” His location is the key to our power and authority on earth. If He comes to earth, we lose our privileged position. Mankind was designed to serve as a corporate rulership of kings representing their Father, the King of Heaven, inthe colony called earth. Like the Portuguese prince in the story above, man was sover-eign within the sphere of his own domain, but he acknowledged God’s ultimate sovereignty over all by right of creation and owner-ship. That ideal arrangement was shattered, however, when man rebelled against God, abdicated his regency, and passed control ofhis realm to a demonic usurper, a fallen angel who had no right or authority to take it.God’s purpose is unchanging. 

               He created man for rulership, andso immediately set into motion His plan to restore to man the Kingdom he had lost. The Bible lays out a detailed record of the his-torical outworking of God’s plan. In the fullness of time, when every-thing was in place, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born into human flesh and appeared to men, saying, “Repent change yourmind], for the kingdom of heaven is near[or has arrived]” (Matt.4:17b). The Son of God came to get the Kingdom back for man. He came as a human because earth is man’s God-given domain, and only a human has the legal authority to rule it directly. 

                   SEVEN KINGDOM PRINCIPLES OF TERRITORY 

                Territory is vital to a kingdom because without territory no kingdom can exist. This is why a king is always interested in expand-ing his territory. Why is territory so important? Why can there not be a kingdom without it? Here are seven reasons. 1//No king can rule nothing .A king is a ruler, which by def-inition requires a domain to rule over. No domain, noruler; no ruler, no king. That is why God made the earth before He made man; man could not be a king until he had a domain. 

                 When God set out to establish His Kingdom, He began by creating territory: “In the begin-ning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).First He created Heaven, His territory, and then He cre-ated earth, man’s territory. That way man could be a kinglike his Creator. 

                     2// There is no kingdom without a domain.Why is the terri-tory of a king called his domain? Because he dominates it. A territory dominated by a king is called his “kingdominion,” which is where we get the word “kingdom.” 

                        3//.The essence of a kingdom is the right, the power, and the authority of the king to exercise complete sovereignty overa domain.In other words, a true kingdom is one where the king has the right to rule. Rights are very important because they are the basis for authority. God has theright to rule the universe. Why?  Because He created it. Within His Kingdom God can do whatever He wants because His rights as King give Him absolute power andauthority—infinite power and authority because HisKingdom is infinite. 

                  4//The heart of the kingdom concept is king domain. Thedomain of the king is the key to his kingdom because tobe a king he has to have some domain to rule. 

                  5//.A king is not a king without a domain.I’ve already saidthis, but it bears repeating because many people who have no kingdom concept have trouble understandingthe connection between a king and his domain. Whenthe Shah of Iran was ousted by Islamic fundamentalist revolutionaries in 1979, he fled to another country. Although he was still called the shah (the Iranian wordfor king), it was mainly a courtesy. In reality, he was nolonger a king because he no longer had a domain. He wasa king in exile. You cannot be a king without territory.This is why Christ had to come to earth to get our earth-ly kingdom back. We are supposed to be rulers, but with-out our territory we cannot fulfill our destiny. 

                    6.// The wealth of a king’s domain defines his value. We touched on this in the last chapter. Territory is importantto a king because the more territory he has, the richer heis. A king is only as wealthy as his domain. And as we will see later, territory real estate is important because itis the only form of earthly wealth that never loses itsvalue. 

                       7//.The loss of a domain is the loss of a kingdom. Again, theShah of Iran is a good example. As soon as he lost his domain he was no longer a king except in name. Anotherprime example is Adam. When Adam, the king of the earth, rebelled against God, the High King of Heaven, he lost his kingdom and with it, his place as king.The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the “second Adam”who came to restore what the first Adam lost. BecauseJesus restored the Kingdom, all who are citizens of theKingdom of heaven can now be kings and queens of theearthly realm again. 

                 What does this mean in practicalterms? It means we can control our circumstances andour domain rather than they controlling us. The “goodnews of the Kingdom” that Jesus preached is not just thatwe can have our sins forgiven and become aligned right-ly with God, although these are absolutely essential; thegood news is also the fact that we can have our Kingdomback! 

              FIVE PRINCIPLES OF MAN’S EARTHLY AUTHORITY

Our destiny as human beings is wrapped up in land. God creat-ed us to be kings over the earthly realm, and He will not rest untilwe are fully restored to our rightful place. I want to share with youfive principles that help explain the basis of our authority on earthas God intended it to be. 

         1//.The first thing God gave man was territory.He did notgive man a religion or rules to follow. He gave him land. Before man could be the king God created him to be, hehad to have a king domain to rule over. 

          2//The earth was created to give man kingship legitimacy.God gave us the earth so that our kingship would belegal. He made Adam a king and He made Eve a queen equal to Adam in every way. The rulership of the earth belongs to both men and women. My wife is my partner in rulership. She does not serve me. We dominate the earth together on behalf of our government of Heaven. 

          3//.The domain of earth is mankind’s legal right, power, and authority of rulership.When God said, “Let themhavedominion,” He transferred the legal rights to the earth tous. He did not say, “Let ushave dominion,” including Himself, because He already had His dominion in heav-en. He said, “Let them have dominion over that territory called earth. I’m going to rule heaven; My kids are going to rule earth. I’m going to be King of heaven; they’regoing to be king of the earth. I’m going to be Sovereign of heaven; they’re going to be sovereign of earth.” The dominion of earth is our legal right. We have a right to be here and God gave us that right. So many believers look forward to going to heaven, but I look forward to comingback to rule the “new earth” that God will fashion when this earth passes away! (see Rev. 21:1). Heaven is fine,and it will be a glorious place, but ultimately it is notwhere we belong. In heaven we have no legal authority torule; it is God’s domain. We were made for the earth, andthat is where our place of dominion will be in the life tocome. 

               4//.“Let them” are the key words in the transfer of authority from God to man.God delegated authority to us because He wants us to experience rulership. He wants us toknow what it is like to be in charge. 5//.Man’s kingship is by privilege, not by creative right.God controls the domain because He created it. He rules it by creative rights. We rule it because of privilege. We are kings by delegation, not by creation. God gave us ruler-ship but not ownership. But our rulership “charter”includes a sense of ownership because He gave us sover-eignty within our earthly dominion.

                                     BINDING AND LOOSING 

         This transfer of ruling authority over the earth from God to man has major implications for all of us regarding our daily circum-stances and our relationship to our society and culture. Therefore, itis important that we understand it. God has given us authority over the earth. That means we’re in charge. Whatever we say goes. This gives us a lot of freedom to do what we please within our domain. But it also means that we can’t blame God for everything that goes wrong, yet that is exactly what we do. 

           “Why does God allow so much suffering in the world? Why doesn’t God do away with evil? Whydoes He allow sickness to continue? Doesn’t He care? Why doesn’tGod do something?”Why doesn’t God intervene? Because this is not His domain. Hewill not intervene in the affairs of this earthly domain without the permission of those who hold dominion authority here. And who holds dominion authority? 

             Every human being on earth who is a cit-izen of the Kingdom of Heaven. God is not to blame for human eviland suffering. We brought these things on ourselves by our own self-ishness and rebellious spirit. God wants to help but won’t interveneunless invited to do so by Kingdom citizens who know their domin-ion authority. Through prayer we invite God to act in our domain.This is what Jesus meant when He said I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beloosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18) 

                   Many believers have been taught that this verse deals with bind-ing and loosing demonic spirits. It has nothing to do with demons.Jesus is using Kingdom language. To “bind” means to lock up or pro-hibit; to “loose” means to unlock or permit. On earth we havedominion authority. Jesus is saying that what we prohibit on earth,heaven will prohibit, and what we permit on earth, Heaven will per-mit. Consider the implications of this. Whatever we allow in socie-ty, Heaven will not stop, and whatever we disallow in society,Heaven will make sure it does not happen.

               Do you understand how serious this is? The management of theearth is totally up to us. Weare responsible for the evil, ills, and suf-fering in our world. These things are reflections of the nature andquality of our management. That is why God needs us to pray. Hecannot interfere on earth unless we release Him to do so because Hehas given us sovereignty here. When we do, Heaven invades our ter-ritory on our behalf. The King of Heaven has given us dominion authority here on earth, and He will not violate it without our permission. This truth holds a critical key to how we should live as Kingdom citizens on earth. 

                  Having been raised in one or another of the vari-ous human systems of government, we all have been “programmed”to think of life and society in terms of the “have’s” and the “havenot’s,” of periodic economic upheavals and downturns, chronic shortages of commodities, corruption, despotism, and the strong preying on the weak. We look at these things, sigh, and then say, “Ohwell, that’s life.”Not in the Kingdom of Heaven! As I said before, in the Kingdom of heaven, there is no economic crisis and there are no shortages because heaven’s resources areinfinite. 

                And because all Kingdom citizens are equal, there are no“have’s” and “have not’s”; everyone is a “have.” There is no corruptionor despotism because our King is a righteous and benevolent ruler.The strong do not prey on the weak because there are no weak. Everyone is strong in the strength and presence and influence of the King and in the secure knowledge of their place and privilege asequal citizens of the Kingdom. Seeing life from this perspective will require a major change ofmind-set for most people.

                 We have to learn, we have to train, we have to be taught to think this way. A change of mind is what the Bible calls “repentance.” So now the words of Jesus become much clearer when He says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”(Matt. 4:17). He is saying, “Change your mind! Stop thinking like the world with its inadequacies and inequities, and start thinking like a Kingdom citizen! Stop operating from a worldly mind-set of “neverenough” and start operating from a Kingdom mindset of “more than enough”! The Kingdom of Heaven is here and everything has changed .

   . . .              TEN    PRINCIPLES OF THE POWER OF LAND 

I hope that by now it is becoming clear how important territoryis to the kingdom concept. With this in mind, I want to conclude thischapter with a brief discussion of ten principles of the power of land.In this context, land, territory, and domainmean the same thing. 

           1// The first thing God gave man was land. We have already discussed this. God created the earth and then createdman to rule it. Specifically, God placed Adam in a lush, beautiful garden and gave him the responsibility of car-ing for it and all its inhabitants. The King of Heaven gave the king of earth a physical domain landover whichto exercise dominion.   . 2.The first thing man lost was land. When Adam and Eve rebelled against the king, He drove them out of the gar-den. They lost the property God had given them. Having lost their dominion, they discovered that the earthly environment was now hostile to them. 

             3.The first thing God promised Abraham was land, notheaven. The first thing God promised Moses was land, not heaven.Our big dream is to go to Heaven, while God’s big dream is for us to possess land because He created usto be kings, and all kings own property. 4.Real wealth is in the land. That’s why it’s called realestate. All other estates aren’t “real.” So many people expend all their resources acquiring “wealth” that neverlasts—commodities that dissipate through consumptionor are wiped out by economic depression or natural dis-aster. Land never loses its value regardless of what the economy does. In fact, land almost always grows in valueeven during difficult times. If you want to help ensureprosperity for yourself as well as future generations,focus on acquiring real estate. There is power in land,which leads us to the next principle. 5.He who owns the land controls the wealth.Once, I was inOmaha, Nebraska, riding in from the airport, and remarked to my driver about the beauty and impressive-ness of a particular skyscraper that dominated the sky-line. “What is that?” I asked. He chuckled and said,“That’s the disgrace of the city.” “Why?” I asked, sur-prised. He replied, “That’s the tallest building in the city,and it is owned by the Japanese.” Smart people Kingdom-minded people—go after land. Why?

        6.True wealth is in the land. It never loses its value and, infact, almost always increases in value the longer you ownit. I once acquired a small piece of land for $35,000.Several people made offers to buy the land, but I held onto it. A few years later, a wealthy business man built a$3,000,000 estate on an adjacent piece of property. What do you think that did to the value of myland? True wealth lies in real estate. 

        7//.The meek will inherit the earth.And Jesus said that is ablessing: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). “Meek” means “gentle,” but it also means “disciplined.” The Greek word refers to the demeanor of a horse that has been broken for riding. A horse is a very strong animal. After it is broken it is still strong, but that strength is now under control. It is underdiscipline. These kind of people the meek Jesus says,are the ones who will inherit the earth not Heaven 

           8//.Land is the only estate that is real. Real estate is the only property of truly lasting value that we can pass on to our children. Everything else fades away too easily. The Bible says: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’schildren” (Prov. 13:22a). 

           9// God considers the loss of land a curse.This is very important in the Bible. Every time God cursed the Israelites fortheir rebellion and disobedience, He took land from them. When they repented, He blessed them by restor-ing their land. God uses land to measure blessing orcursing. Therefore...10.The restoration of land is a blessing.Land is important. Land has power because without land there is no domain and without domain there is no king. 

                                    KINGS OF A NEW EARTH 

Many Kingdom citizens have been taught so thoroughly to anticipate and look forward to Heaven as the ultimate “reward” for the life to come that talk of an earthly inheritance makes them uncomfortable. But this is what the Bible says. Isaiah, an ancient and early spokesman for the Kingdom of Heaven, recorded: For this is what the Lord says He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed itto be inhabited—He says: “I am the Lord, and there is noother” (Isaiah 45:18).

               God created the earth for people to live on it. He is so commit-ted to this planet that even when it passes away He will recreate it:Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away....And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.They will be His people, and God Himself will be withthem and be their God...for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:1,3,4b-5a).God’s program never changes.

                He is committed to His plan forearth, and for earth dwellers, which is why we can’t stay in Heaven.The Bible promises a full resurrection in which all Kingdom citizenswill have a new body, a physical body of some sort, and will reign in the earth forever, just as God intended from the beginning. In the meantime, He wants us to practice—to learn how to take up ruler-ship and exercise wise dominion over this territory called earth that He has given us. The Kingdom of Heaven is here now. 

               We are its cit-izens, representatives of its colonial government, and we possess the authority right now to act in the name of our King and bring theinfluence of His will and desires over this earthly domain.

                     PRINCIPLES ` 

1. Every kingdom has territory. 

2. Heaven is a real Kingdom with a real government. 

3. A king is not a king unless he has territory over whichto rule. 

4. The Son of God came to get the Kingdom back for man. 

5. Without territory no kingdom can exist. 

6. A king is only as wealthy as his domain. 

7. Our destiny as human beings is wrapped up in land. 

8. We were made for the earth, and that is where our 

   placeof dominion will be in the life to come. 

9. We are kings by delegation, not by creation. 

10. God will not intervene in the affairs of this earthly domain

      without the permission of those who hold dominionauthority here. 

11. Through prayer we invite God to act in our domain. 

12. In the Kingdom of Heaven there are no “have’s” 

    and“have not’s”; everyone is a “have.” 

13. The meek will inherit the earth, not Heaven.