Introduction to The Kingdom of God!

What is the Kingdom of God? Where is the Kingdom of God? What is the purpose of the Kingdom of God?

In order for you to understand the Kingdom of God, you must understand what happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam disobeyed God. The Lord had told Adam in Gen. 2:27-28,

So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

God gave them authority over everything that moves on the earth! Unfortunately, when they disobeyed God and obeyed Satan, they gave him the authority to rule the earth. He had the legal right to rule as he pleased on this earth. Paul said in Rom. 6:16, (NIV)

"Don"t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Jesus defeated the devil on the cross, however, we, as the body of Christ, the Church, we must learn to go before the courts of heaven and present God's word to him and come into agreement with what the word says to release the Lord's will for our nation and all the nations of the earth. By doing so we give the Lord the legal authority to fulfill His purpose on this earth. God is a judge and will only operate His will under legal terms. This is so Satan can have no accusations against Him or us in the courts of Heaven.

Satan has the right to come before the courts of heaven and make his accusations against us. In the book of Job we see the sons of God coming before the courts of heaven to present themselves and Satan came with them! I will talk about the courts of the Kingdom of God as soon as I lay the foundation of the Kingdom of God.

The Old Testament ends on a note of expectation that the return of Elijah the prophet and that he would soften the hearts of the people to obey the Law of Moses in conformity with Israel's calling as God's holy nation "(Mal. 4:4-6). However, four hundred long years had passed since Israel has heard any word from God. During this time, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans all ruled over Israel in Palestine. The apocryphal books were written and the apocalyptic prophets preached. But no authentic prophet arose to bring a good word from God.

Finally, the deafening silence was shattered by the strong voice of John the Baptist the promised forerunner of Messiah who was also the new Elijah (Matt. 3:3; 11:14; Mark 1:2-3; 9:13; Luke 3:4-6). John the Baptist made this startling, but exciting announcement: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matt. 3:2)!

The Kingdom of God is a Spiritual Kingdom and not a physical kingdom. In order to become a resident of this Kingdom, you must be born again! Our heavenly Father is the sovereign ruler of the greatest Kingdom in the entire universe. The Kingdom is not a congregation; it's a real government with a king, (Jesus), a country (heaven), a military (angels), and citizens. Like all legitimate governments, the Kingdom of God has a Judicial Branch.