UNDERSTANDING KINGS AND KINGDOMS

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son
Colossians 1:12-13

The Bible is filled with stories of kings and how they ruled their kingdoms. We read about David, the Shepherd boy, who became king, and how he ruled Israel in fear of the Lord. We also read about another of his descendants, Manasseh, the twelve-year-old king whose wickedness eventually made God allow the Israelites to enter captivity. (2 Kings 21)

For every king mentioned in the Scriptures, we realize that the nature of a king always determined the texture of his kingdom. The kings who chose to submit and follow God enjoyed peace, light, and prosperity in their kingdom, and those who did otherwise had chaos and darkness in abundance.

As it was for those kings, so is it for every man now. Whoever we yield the kingdom of our souls to determines the texture of our lives. First, however, it is essential to point out that only two kingdoms rule the hearts of men: The Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. God, who is Light, rules the Kingdom of Light (1 John 1:5), while Satan, the principal ruler of the darkness of this world, leads the kingdom of darkness. (Ephesians 6:12).

Contrary to popular opinions that suggest that there are many ways into the Kingdom of Light, God made His path as clear as daylight when Jesus said, ‘ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14: 6). Therefore, anyone who wants access to God’s glorious Kingdom of Light must come in through the only approved door: Jesus. To choose another entrance is to be deceived by Satan, who disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and finds oneself in the kingdom of darkness.

As mentioned earlier, the nature of the king determines how his kingdom will function. God’s nature is light. His nature is truth and peace. His nature is righteousness. Anyone who chooses to come into His Kingdom must be ready to abide by His principles and take on His nature. Satan, on the other hand, is darkness. His nature is evil, and anyone who yields to him will imbibe and exhibit his evil nature. While God gives every man the power of choice and allows us to exercise this power (Deuteronomy 30:15), Satan seeks to make men bow to his rule through every means possible. The king we choose determines what we will enjoy and suffer.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:19

While light is the best choice, men often prefer darkness because their works are evil. And until the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shines on a man’s heart, his heart will remain blinded in allegiance to Satan, the God of this world. Like the proverbial frog that eventually gets killed in a boiling water pot that started cold, many people are entangled in the unfruitful works of darkness through seemingly harmless thoughts and actions. Satan never advertises his kingdom as a dark, dreary, and utterly evil place.

Instead, he parades it as a place of free will and uninhibited enjoyment. John identifies the tools he uses to lure men into his kingdom in 1 John 2:16:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

He used the same tactic to lure the first man and woman from the glorious Kingdom of Light in Genesis 3. When he presented the forbidden tree as a tree good for food, he masked the lust of the flesh in appetite. Then, he made Eve see it as a tree pleasant to the eyes, and in this, the lust of the eyes was activated. Lastly, he made her desire to become wise outside of God’s ordained pathway for wisdom, and the pride of life was released. After breaking Eve’s defense with his tools of deception, she found it easy to disobey God, her Lord, and king. Rejecting the Kingship of God meant embracing the Lordship of Satan, and this act of rebellion plunged humanity into chaos and inaccurate judgment.

The fall of Adam and Eve also cast a veil over the hearts of men and made men call Light, darkness, and darkness Light. (Isaiah 5:20). Every succeeding generation became worse than the preceding one, and evil became the norm of the day until God decided His Spirit would no longer strive with man. (Genesis 6:3). In a whole generation, only Noah and his family were exempted from the righteous judgment of God. And until Jesus came, men found it increasingly challenging to choose God’s ways and desire His Kingdom.

The coming of Jesus reintroduced God’s Kingdom to the earth. And Matthew declared,
‘The people which sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.’ Matthew 4:16
Jesus restored man from the darkness of Satanic rule into the marvelous light of God’s Kingdom. His death paid for the sins of humanity and freed anyone who believed and received Him to be called the son of God. (John 1:12). Anyone who made Jesus Savior, Lord, and King automatically becomes a new creature. A person who was once ‘darkness’ becomes ‘light.’

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8

In conclusion, where Jesus is not, light is absent, and where light is absent, Satan reigns supreme. Let no one deceive you into thinking there is Light outside Jesus because in Him is life and that life is the light of men. (John 1:4). Outside Him are death and darkness. God’s pathway to His Kingdom of Light is wide open to anyone who wants to enjoy light and life. Jesus is the way, and he bid you COME.