KINGDOMS
While cities are groupings of spiritual people, kingdoms refer to the authority governing the people. The main fact about kingdoms to keep in mind is that there are only two basic kingdoms: the kingdom of God’s and the kingdoms of many satans.

STUDY TIP: See  Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs for more about many satans.

God governs his spiritual kingdom by writing his spiritual laws on the hearts of his people, and many satans govern their kingdoms through religious laws, civil laws, and institutional laws that they create and enforce. This fact should be a caution for people to constantly evaluating their thoughts and actions to discern who is exercising authority over them. Choosing correctly is a matter of life and death.

Biblical kingdoms are usually identified with particular kings, queens and princes. Applying these scriptures to today, we should think of kings, queens and princes as religious leaders such as pastors and rabbis who rule over their unique religious kingdoms (e.g. churches, synagogues, denominations, ministries, etc.). Since these religious leaders have built their kingdoms, cities, and nations through commercial religion so that they might become wealthy, they are enemies of God and New Covenant disciples.

Religious leaders have deceived the religious world into believing  that they are agents of God’s kingdom. The truth is that they are each in control of their respective kingdoms which collectively comprise  the kingdom of the world of religion. They are collectively symbolized as satans who are in direct charge of every religious kingdom in the world — but not the Kingdom of God.

STUDY TIP: See Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs for more about multiple satans.

Multiple satans (i.e. religious leaders) are at work in the world of religion to establish their personal religious kingdoms. Disguised as as angels of light and servants of righteousness, satans are charismatic religious leaders who create and administer religious institutions, churches and ministries in which they practice commercial religion to work their evil ways that lead deceived people to destruction.

But God is in the business of rescuing his people from the kingdoms of these many satans and establishing them in his kingdom. Nevertheless, there is no room for misunderstanding that God is ultimately in control of all authorities, including kings, satans, and their kingdoms. God will expose them for what they are at a unique time for each person.

STUDY TIP: See Kings, Queens and Princes for more about the rulers of kingdoms.

The truth about kingdoms and satans has been revealed to New Covenant disciples. They no longer associate with religious kingdoms because God has opened their eyes to the truth. In effect, they have come out of Egypt and Babylon. God has rescued them from religion.

Old/First Covenant religionists, however, still believe that religion is good because understanding which kingdom authority you are following is a very tricky and difficult thing to discern. It is not difficult to people who live blatantly evil lives that include murder, theft, envy, adultery, lying, etc., because they are clearly articulated in written, religious laws. It is harder, however, to identify the unwritten code of the New Covenant which is, or at least should be, written on their hearts. This unwritten, hidden code is the code that Jesus represents and mediates for New Covenant believers.

STUDY TIP: Read The Law for details about God’s law written on the hearts of men. Also read Kingdoms and covenant comparisons for clues that will aid in evaluating kingdoms.