A Tale of Two Kingdoms.

When the Old Testament prophets weren't foretelling doom and gloom, or exposing the spiritual harlotry numbness and disobedience of the chosen people, they were predicting a time where all of the nations in the world would come to Israel in order to serve the one true God. This as-of-yet unfulfilled promise was also made by Paul in his letter to the Philippians, when he paraphrases Isaiah and says "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow." Even though Christianity has grown by leaps and bounds since it's origin, it's popularity is not the fulfillment of this prophetic promise, and no amount of human strength or force could make it come true. The day is still ahead of us when this prophecy will come true, by the power of God, in his timing.

Jesus is described as the "King of Kings" in the book of Revelation. Many sermons, hymns, and worship songs have been written about his royal standing, which is unquestionably greater than the kings of the world. However, there is an assumption made often in these messages that Jesus is in charge of the kings of this world. Referring to Jesus as the King of Kings gives many believers a comforting feeling; a sense of pride and encouragement (which is fine). But the fact remains that the kings of this world are not being ruled, guided or governed by Jesus Christ, and they never have been. I believe that there have been Christians in power before, however the title "King of Kings" for Christ implies total authority over the world, and not selective (and always limited) dedication from compromised Christian heads of state.

Before he began his mission of preaching the gospel of his father's kingdom, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan. During this famous encounter, Satan showed Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said that he would give authority over them to Christ, if Christ would bow down and worship him. Satan offered to make Jesus the King of the world's Kings right then and there, no painful sacrificial death needed. The devil revealed that his authority extends over all the kingdoms of the world...and Jesus refused to accept the role of King over the kings of the world.

Three years later, as he stood questioned by Roman governor Pontius Pilate, Jesus explained that his kingdom was not a part of this world.

I believe that Jesus was, is, and will be King of his Father's kingdom; but the prince of this world is Satan. That's why the separation between church and state is so important. That's why the recent Republican experiment to put professing Christians in power has been such a tremendous failure. That's why clubs like the Bohemian Grove exist (where heads of politics, media, and commerce throughout the western world meet each summer to worship the ancient Babylonian demon god, Moloch).

During the 1950s, some well meaning religious fundamentalists lobbied to add "Under God" to the pledge of allegiance, and to officially make "In God we trust" the national motto of America. This legislation did absolutely nothing to further the cause of Christ, but it did provide Satan with some very useful camouflage. The phrase "One nation, under God", which is repeated by school children every day for several years, directly implies that Jesus (or God) is the King of Kings when it comes to America. This not-so-subtle suggestion has caused a veil of blindness to come down over millions of patriotic "born agains". When Bush was in office, his sins were considered mere means to an end. Our righteous standing in the world was unquestioned in many fundamentalist minds, even when leaks of torture, and obvious war profiteering came to the surface. This total lack of discernment has been allowed to grow because of the false belief that we are a "Christian nation".

It is likewise ironic that the modern money-changers of the Usury fueled Federal reserve bank can dare to print "in God we trust" on all its coins and notes, because in reality, the people have been forced into trusting an unsustainable monetary system based on debt.

By coming to terms with the fact that Satan is the "prince of this world", it becomes possible to realize that our national policy from the beginning has been to steal, kill and destroy. All Throughout American history, there is ample evidence that the "higher power" that guides our leaders has been Satan and not Jesus Christ. From the genocide of native Americans, to slavery,
to the start of the great depression in 1929 (and the 2008 economic "meltdown"), to the Atomic bomb, to the global infection called consumerism. Not one of these things would have happened if America were really a "Christian nation". The truth is that the so called good old days were pretty bad. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit.

I believe there is no hope in Christian government in this world system because the core of Christianity is life-long devotion to a kingdom that is apart from this world (which is just as fallen now as it was when Constantine declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman empire). To pretend that any government in history has fully followed Christ is destructive to the gospel. The past 2000 years have been filled with suffering, corruption, religious hypocrisy, greed, war, famine and all of the other tell-tale signs of a fallen creation. We must believe that when Christ returns, that curse will be lifted.

Conformity has killed the hope of Christian government at every juncture. Paul boldly instructed new believers in the Roman empire this: Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Not only does this command apply to us as individuals, it is also meant for the institutions of Christianity (in church and government). By conforming to the structure of the pre-existing world system, no officially "Christian" government has been able to allow the light of Christ to shine upon and heal it's citizenry. If our kings were subjects under the rule and authority of Christ, the world would be a completely different place. It should give us hope to keep that in mind. There is no compromise in the kingdom of God. There will be no mistaking when Jesus takes his crown. As Daniel describes it, the kingdom of God is like "a rock, not cut by human hands". It is light that has nothing to do with the darkness of the present day.

In closing, Jesus said that in the last days, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom". I don't think he was repeating himself there. I believe that we see evidence of nations fighting against nation every day. But the bottom line of this last battle rests in the Kingdom of God finally rising against the kingdoms of this world, to crumble them into dust.

A wonderful prophecy dealing with the dual nature of God's kingdom and the world kingdom can be found in Daniel 2:31-45. It paints a very clear picture. Stay blessed.