The Origin, Dwelling-place, and Identity of God
1. God is a totally pre-existent, self-sufficient Being.
2. God is; that is to say, He is timeless and self-referential. His existence was originally manifested in a spiritual realm, both invisible (unseen) and non-temporal (beyond time). When he speaks of Himself, He leaves no doubt of His eternal quality.
3. God has named the spiritual realm “Heaven”, where He “lives” and reigns and from where He may be accessed. From the beginning of Creation, He has dwelt in this eternal realm with certain celestial beings, the “sons of God”, whom He created. They include the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer (who eventually rebelled, becoming Satan) who were present when God created the 3-dimensional universe in which mankind lives.
4. As the initiator, or Prime Mover of this invisible domain (Heaven), He automatically and permanently becomes its ruler. His Son, Jesus, spoke quite often that Heaven operates as a Kingdom with God as its supreme, eternal authority. Many familiar people dwell there.
5. The Bible claims that God created the visible realm as an extension of His spiritual, heavenly Kingdom. Extending His authority beyond the invisible realm into the created, visible arena is an act of colonization. Jesus later encouraged his followers to diligently and perpetually search out the purpose and function of this Kingdom. He used the Greek word “zeto,” meaning “a continual or constant endeavor, (rather than a one-time action); a dominant concern of one’s life.” He even provided us the primary character quality that would lead to honor in this Kingdom: humility.
6. We know that words and actions flow from one’s character and identity: “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) For those who claim they can’t believe in God because they haven’t seen Him personally, the Bible claims that it’s appropriate to draw conclusions from what He has done. He has revealed aspects of His nature and His genius through His Creation.
7. From the beginning, the Lord designed Creation to function as an extension of His heavenly monarchy. He placed in man a desire to lead and then delegated ruling authority to him. The Dominion Mandate, issued in the opening chapter of Genesis, called for us to be co-regents with God over the vast, newly created natural realm. He would be King and all mankind would be both His children and His duly-constituted ambassadors. This was a fundamental component of the Lord’s original plan of creation. Paul reaffirmed this to the Greeks thousands of years later:
8. Man’s authority over Creation was intended to be under the complete guidance of the Holy Spirit. However, by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam activated His personal will — his right to make choices for himself. Sin entered the world and death followed.
9. Mankind’s desire for power led to increasingly deeper levels of perversion and violent expressions of evil.
10. When Adam sinned, he was expelled from the Garden of Eden, losing his intimate relationship with God and his right to represent God as the Kingdom’s ambassador. But… he never lost his internal drive to rule, nor to worship. These deep motivations were engineered into the heart of man from the moment God breathed into his nostrils. Even today, we see how selfish, corrupt willpower manifests in business, politics, community affairs and a hundred other human agencies. Absent a loving, God-centered Kingdom as the center of gravity, mankind argues and fights over politics, religion, culture and a host of other issues.
11. All of human history has been witness to man’s vain attempt to set up civil, economic and religious power centers to satiate this unyielding hunger to rule — to fulfill the Dominion Mandate by perverse means. Without acknowledging God, man is compelled by this invisible and ancient motivation to attempt to satisfy the deepest longings in his very nature.
12. Man retains an inherent drive to create a utopian society to replicate the Kingdom which the Lord intended. He still yearns for heaven on earth, but his sinful nature causes him to look toward his ingenuity to fulfill it. Literature throughout the ages describes perfect societies such as Atlantis or the Shire where mankind lives in complete harmony. Man now has a corrupt yet profound, innate desire to fulfill his spiritual and natural destiny (the original Dominion Mandate), given to him by God in the Garden of Eden. The results are devastating. Naziism, Communism, and many other despicable ideologies testify to the tragic results of man implementing his personal idealism on society.
13. Curiously, many cultures and theologies throughout history foretell of a messiah – trusting that a savior would usher in this utopia of which many dreamed. He would establish a world free of pain, suffering and poverty and erect a beneficent government that strikes the perfect balance between order and freedom.
14. The double tragedy is that for millennia man didn’t realize what had been lost or what he was trying to duplicate. He was ignorant of the original plan for Kingdom government. Even today, man looks for utopian solutions through religious structures, political parties, earthly governments, endless education and business pursuits. Solomon claimed that “all is vanity” because he, too, never saw the deliverance power of the Lord’s government.
15. The Old Testament also foretold that a Redeemer would come; One who would restore man back to his original holy status with God. However, we should note His purpose was not simply to reestablish man’s relationship with God. Remember — the original strategic plan of Heaven remained unfulfilled! Yes, the Messiah would certainly offer the gift of eternal life, but He would also restore the Kingdom lost in the Garden of Eden. Prophets spoke of this secondary purpose for hundreds of years. The language in these passages clearly alludes to the introduction of a heavenly government.
16. As we now know, Jesus fulfilled those prophecies; He certainly is that predicted Messiah, the Christ, the Lamb of God. Yet, He also fulfilled the prophecies of kingship. Just prior to His birth, the archangel Gabriel issued one last prophetic word to His mother, the Virgin Mary. Of all the predictions this angel might have made, of all the wondrous works he might have prophesied on behalf of God Almighty when speaking to Mary, and through her to us, Gabriel foretold Christ’s role as eternal King. Can we just acknowledge its importance?
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