[Steve Myers] We've been talking about prophecy on BT Daily and a question came up regarding the Kingdom of God. We talked about the beginning of the book of Mark where Jesus Christ came preaching the Kingdom of God. And a question came up regarding John 18:36 where Christ said, "My kingdom is not of this world, if my Kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight." He made that comment to Pilate just before the crucifixion. And the question is, well, why isn't the Kingdom of this world, or what exactly did Christ mean by that statement?

[Gary Petty] Well, you know, Steve, people can be confused by that because we know that God sits on a throne, that God isn't somehow not over His Kingdom. So God sits on a throne, Jesus Christ sits at His right hand. There is a kingdom. The whole universe is the Kingdom of God. And yet, Jesus said, pray that His Kingdom come. But what we have to realize is when Paul says that Satan is the god of this world, we live in an occupied part of God's Kingdom. God has allowed Satan to occupy the earth for a period of time, to rule over mankind, but He is going to send Jesus Christ back and God's Kingdom is going to be reestablished right here on this Earth.

[Steve Myers] So ultimately when Christ returns, the Kingdom of God is established on Earth.

[Gary Petty] Right.

[Steve Myers] And so He is the King of that Kingdom, and yet He's still to come. So in a sense, what was Christ saying? Immediately at that point that He's being asked, His Kingdom wasn't of this world, but that—what, ultimately it's a spiritual thing, I suppose.

[Gary Petty] That's right, ultimately, you know, the spirit realm, the physical realm—everything is going to be under God's rule. And Satan didn't take the Earth and humanity away from God because he was more powerful. God allowed him to do this for a period of time, which means that you and I can turn to God right now and we can submit to God's Kingdom in our lives right now. So it's a future event when Christ comes back, but for those who submit to God, God's rule, God's Kingdom can be in our lives right now.

[Steve Myers] So when we—if we were to map it out—let's think about this for just a second. We've got to have the King of the Kingdom, right?

[Gary Petty] Right.

[Steve Myers] And that's got to be Jesus Christ. 

[Gary Petty] That's Jesus Christ.

[Steve Myers] And He's going to return to His territory and ultimately that territory is going to be here on Earth, right, as He returns.

[Gary Petty] Right. It encompasses the whole universe obviously.

[Steve Myers] Right.

[Gary Petty] But this is the part that's not under His rule at the present time.

[Steve Myers] Okay, and so maybe that's part of why He said, "My Kingdom is not of this world."

[Gary Petty] Right.

[Steve Myers] But He's returning to this Earth to rule over His subjects.

[Gary Petty] That's right—all of humanity.

[Steve Myers] And that's got to be a part of the plan. So, there's going to be a King over His territory, but how are those subjects going to be ruled?

[Gary Petty] Now we get down to God's instructions, God's laws.

[Steve Myers] Right. And so just like society, any organized society today, is governed by laws, so will the Kingdom of God.

[Gary Petty] That's right, both in the physical realm and in the spiritual.

[Steve Myers] And so we can look forward to the fact that Christ is going to return and establish that Kingdom right here on Earth. And so He's looking forward to doing that with His subjects in His territory under His law. That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.