Kingdom Principles

Kingdom Concept #3

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 its primary realm encompasses the spiritual dimension of creation does not 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 every creature that inhabits the earth. Rule it freely as My legal represen tative.” God does not want to come here where we are personally, so that 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 it but 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, in the 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

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