There are two kingdoms in this world – and only two.
One kingdom is the material, visible, tangible one we see all around us. The other is usually invisible, intangible and spiritual. But both are incontrovertibly real, and they are inextricably merged. They overlap and interact continually, and we all experience both every day, every minute, of our lives.
Some, notably some scientists and all atheists, deny the existence of the spiritual kingdom, though they inhabit it and are constantly influenced by it. One poor example: Some few citizens of our country deny allegiance to it, refuse to pay any taxes and claim to be "citizens of the world," not the United States. Eventually, though, they find that they are indeed subject to its government, and may be subject to imprisonment or deportation. Their denials and rebellion don't change the facts – or the consequences of their denials.
So it is with the spiritual kingdom that rules over all things and persons, even the worldly governments of the material kingdom. If this earth, and indeed the vast universe, is a created entity – as the vast majority of human beings have always understood, since, scientifically, material things cannot spring spontaneously from nothing – the Creator holds sway, complete and final authority over any and all created things.
Increasingly, many deny and rebel against the sway of the spiritual kingdom and try to "reason away" its very existence. But all that philosophical delusion doesn't change the facts – or the consequences of their denials.
Atheism is itself a religion. It's a faith system, based on a belief that there is no God, no spiritual kingdom – which of course cannot ever be proved, only believed. It is opposed to the other faith system, based on a firm belief that there is, there must be, a Creator God – and the evidence is everywhere around us. In the material kingdom.
The tracks of a deer in the snow prove the existence of the deer. You may never see it, but you know a deer passed that way. You can't see electrical current, but one flip of a switch proves its existence and present power. A terrific flash of lightning, a bolt that splits a giant tree, an awesome heavenly sunset, the innocent truth in the eyes of a child – all prove to the open and honest observer that there is a Ruler in the invisible kingdom that dictates to the material one.
But there is something in most men that doesn't want to answer to an invisible Power. They want to have freedom from any and all restraint, to be accountable to nobody, to do, say and proclaim: "If it feels good, do it!" This isn't new; our Founding Fathers recognized this inherent trait in man, and so they determined to create a structure in which citizens could have unprecedented freedoms – but with necessary restraints to their baser instincts.
So, on May 25, 1787, they met in Philadelphia to create that structure. They debated and considered and conferred – and prayed – until Sept. 15, when they laid out a shining document, a Constitution, that would establish a society providing freedoms but few guarantees. It was, and is, a perfect blending of the two kingdoms, a material government infused with spiritual guidelines.
You doubt this? John Adams, speaking for all, said, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. ... Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Thomas Jefferson had underscored our allegiance to the spiritual kingdom in his Declaration – "[A]ll men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" (not the guarantee by government, but the pursuit).
So it was, and is, a Constitution for the material kingdom, based and founded on the Constitution of the spiritual kingdom – the Bible.
Barack Obama has observed, "The Constitution mainly states what government can't or shouldn't do; it doesn't say enough about what government should do." He is determined to amend and change government so that it redistributes wealth from those who have more to those who have less; to dictate to the citizenry what government thinks it should have, and be, and do, whether the majority favors those things or not.
Curiously, since he actually taught Constitutional Law in Chicago for a brief time, it's odd that he didn't realize that our founders could have included all that in the original document – and they intentionally did not. They stated their whole vision just before Article I:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice (legal redress for wrongs), insure domestic Tranquility (a peaceful environment), provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare (equality and fairness), and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America."
The structure and purpose of government was not to mandate to the citizens; it was the channel through which they could voluntarily govern themselves.
Constitutionally, the people are the government. Listen again to the Declaration: "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government."
Friend, we have come to a Moment of Decision. Just as our Founding Fathers anguished over whether to continue serving an unjust king or mount a struggle for independence – we must prayerfully decide whether to mount the long and necessary struggle to regain the independence we've lost.
Hear the Psalmist: "Now then, you kings act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Submit to God's royal son, or He will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities – for His anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in Him!" (Psalm 2)
There is now a struggle between the two kingdoms. One must dominate the other – either materialism will discard and trample the spiritual, with all the resulting consequences; or the spiritual will again supersede the material, with the God-ordained privileges, order and freedom we knew.
To which kingdom will you pledge your allegiance, your life, your sacred honor?