Two Kingdoms

I've been thinking about one of the ongoing themes of the bible- the theme of two kingdoms. The bible describes these kingdoms in a very interesting way. The kingdoms are described as "The Kingdom of Light" and "The Kingdom of Darkness." The clear implications of the bible are that each of us are in one of these two kingdoms. In protest some would request a third or fourth choice, but there are only two kingdoms battling for the souls of man. The kingdom of light is ruled by God and the kingdom of darkness is ruled by the devil. We are under the rule of one of these kingdoms, one of these rulers.

There are dozens of verses in the bible that talk about this contrast and the blessings or challenges of each. This morning as I read in the book of Job I came to another reference to subjects of one of these kingdoms. Job speaks, "There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths....they want nothing to do with the light. For all of them, deep darkness is their morning, they make friends with the terrors of darkness." I think that one of the realities we forget is that those living in the kingdom of darkness really like it there. They do not like the light. In fact the light hurts their eyes, their senses. For those in darkness even our presence is irritating, annoying to them.

Here are just a few observations we should be aware of for those who live under the rule of darkness-

1. Those in the kingdom of darkness love the dark. They don't like the light because it shows others what they are doing. John 3:19

2. Those in the kingdom of darkness don't know where they are going. They have no direction. They stumble and don't know what they stumbled over. How could you when you walk in darkness? In the kingdom of darkness direction and purpose are unknown concepts. John 12:35

3. Those in the kingdom of darkness have become blind. The darkness has blinded their eyes. When there is no light to use your eyes soon they become useless. There is a blindness for those in the kingdom of darkness that we don't understand, but you need to know that they simply can't see anymore. 1 John 2:11

4. Those in the kingdom of darkness don't understand the things of the kingdom of light. They are spiritually blind to what is going on in the light and don't understand it. John 1:5

You are under the rule of one of these kingdoms. So is everyone you know. All of us are either in the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. There is an interesting note about the rulers of these two kingdoms you need to know- The ruler of the kingdom of light loves his subjects. The ruler of the kingdom of darkness hates his subjects. Both rule out of how they view their subjects. It makes a big difference.

There is much more to discuss on this topic of two kingdoms, but for today I just wanted to make a few observations to "shine some light" on the battle for planet earth. It's literally a battle of light verses dark. Which kingdom rules you?

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I hope that Paul's words are true of your life when he writes, "...He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves," Colossians 1:13

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