“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11: 15). “Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called....Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9: 5 & 6). “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2: 4). “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Christ Jesus, Luke 17: 20 & 21).
It’s hard to feel peaceful when the world is at war. Like a sponge, we soak up the negativity that surrounds us. The material scene makes us feel the fear of danger, and great anger against the enemies which cause such fear. This internalized fear and anger affects each day, making us feel unsafe, burdened, and abandoned by whatever god-of-good we deem responsible for allowing such evil to exist in the world. Yet, our enemy isn’t other people, or another’s god; our real enemy is the false, material sense of the One God’s absence. Our enemy is our ignorance of God’s loving presence and authority (the kingdom of God) at hand, right where terrorism and war seem to be raging. Our enemy is the darkness of thought we dwell within, which is capable of being made fearful, hateful, and generally unbalanced whenever the externalized world is in chaos. Yet, the ‘kingdom within’, which Christ Jesus tried to bring to the attention of world thought, can lift us above the fear and anger, sometimes even breaking the cycles of revenge and murderous war, both personally and globally. This kingdom is found in the truth of spiritual, rather than material, being. Jesus was showing us the Christ—the spiritual Selfhood of each of us. God, the infinite Spirit and Intelligence of creation, has only spiritual children. God’s kingdom is only a spiritual kingdom, with spiritual, immortal laws which hold creation safe and sound forever. When dwelling in this truth of Spirit’s domain and dominion, the kingdom of God can be brought into the physical realm. When this happens, a transformation, for good, takes place in the human condition. This ‘good’ might take the form of healing a diseased body condition, material abundance replacing lack, or violence finding no victims. Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God at hand, even as Rome was conquering the world. He spoke of the kingdom of God as present, active, and powerful—even though this kingdom is not perceived by the physical senses at all. And he proved the power of such a kingdom, even on Earth. Jesus is often called the Prince of Peace, because in the kingdom of God, of which he spoke, peace is the norm. No warfare exists. Among God’s own true children, (our spiritual identities) there is only love, respect, and harmony. No necessity for discord is present. No one is a have-not; each one has his own provision, for eternity. No borders keep anyone within or without; all are free in the entire kingdom. There is no lack, or limited supplies; Spirit creates abundance forever. But this Kingdom of Peace is a spiritually present place; it’s not part of the physical universe or realm, which humanity believes to be reality—and when mentally realized, this hidden, divine kingdom will trump any evil situation or condition in the outer world of physical form and action. So, where is this seemingly-mythical kingdom, in the face of the terrorism and human revenge cycles claiming dominance in the world today? We’re told that this ever-present kingdom of divine peace and harmony, abundance and everlasting life, is within us. But how can that be? Is it in the body form we use as our fleshly identity?...or, is it in the material mind, that we call ‘brain’? Where, exactly and precisely, is the hidden kingdom of God to be found within us? And how can this seemingly magical ‘place’ do any good against the monumental challenge of century-old tribal wars and unstable world governments? By now, most people perceive the obvious answer: the kingdom of God is within our consciousness. It dwells within our spiritual, conscious awareness of being, however dormant. It’s not in a physical brain, for when that brain has been deserted by the spirit within, the physical, so-called ‘mind’ decays. It is dead. Yet, consciousness goes on forever, because consciousness has its source in the divine, all-inclusive consciousness, and Life, we call God. Just for a moment, ponder and realize this: In this human experience, consciousness is the starting point of all external form and action, both individually and nationally. Someone must take thought, before any action occurs in the outer environment. Before we build a house, we think about it. Before we throw trash in our neighbor’s yard, we plan it. Before we eat a hot-fudge sundae, we taste it, in thought, first. Before we take national steps in any direction, our political leaders and citizens think about it, sometimes for years. Therefore, the quality of thought—especially collective thought—matters greatly in the global environment. Yet, thought is driven by beliefs. In this world, we have billions of people, all thinking and acting out their own, individual beliefs. We then form groups of people, all bound together by like-beliefs in consciousness. The terrorists believe alike. They hate alike. If one looks closely at our current hot-spot (the Middle-East) one can see two dominant thought patterns: the revenge-belief and tribal loyalty-against-all-others belief. So, it’s not really people, but the beliefs they hold, which dictate the endless cycles of violence and active terrorism around the globe. The only good news is: Beliefs can change. Yet, we don’t have to wait for the world around us to change in order to find our own, individual peace and safety. Thought is important on an individual level, as much as on a collective level. The Christ identity, and spiritual consciousness within, is universal. In spiritual truth, everyone is the Christ, meaning one’s spiritual identity made in the image and likeness of God. Everyone is still at one with our Source—the divine Consciousness and Intelligence we know as God. Not only is the kingdom of God within us (our divine, inner consciousness) but our consciousness exists in God—the infinite universe, or dimensional realm of Spirit. It is the false, sense of materiality that wars with this spiritual sense within consciousness. In the Bible, the 91st Psalm of David presents, for study, a great road-map to peace and safety in our earthly sojourn. There’s quite a bit of symbolism and encoding to ponder. Here are a few examples: Note in #1: “the secret place of the most High” is a code for finding the Christ Consciousness within, which knows the kingdom of God, and God’s loving protection throughout time. Note in #2: the “Lord” refers to our universal Christ Identity and its conscious at-one-ness with God, Spirit, and Its infinite power. God and the Christ (God’s children) aren’t separated. They are at One. We have our conscious being within God, meaning that the Christ Consciousness lives within the God-Consciousness. When we trust in the inner presence of this divine consciousness (with Its infinite Intelligence, Wisdom, Truth and Love) this divine, spiritual mentality that is shared with God becomes our savior from all earthly woes, by calling our remembrance to spiritual truths. Note in #11: the “angels” given charge over us is referring to the spiritual truths flowing to us through our shared-with-God, divine Consciousness; truths coming from this spiritual voice within free us from the erroneous beliefs of material existence, and the woes such beliefs bring into our experience. The other numbered verses also contain symbolism which can apply to much of the world problems today. Here’s the 91st Psalm in its entirety: 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. This Psalm is worthy of study and meditation. It’s one of many such writings that bring awakening and enlightenment, in some way, to almost everyone who studies it. It shows that an individual’s consciousness can actually bring safety and the kingdom of God into the human experience, or material world of form. In other words, one person can bring the conditions of the kingdom of heaven into the earthly experience. Specifically, it shows that the invisible kingdom of God is present and active, maintaining Love as the Law, and our spiritual safety from violence, terrorism, and even disease, often while standing, physically, right in the middle of them. Never believe that this doesn’t work on an every-day basis, in an average person’s life. Many years ago, I was in personal danger from a group of individuals in a work environment. My four-year-old daughter had just started pre-school day care; so, to get out of the empty house, I began to substitute teach in elementary school. About my first call, I was asked to substitute for a teacher who was in the hospital. I agreed to stay until she recovered and came back to work. As I recall, the school district wanted my word on that, because they didn’t want to keep changing teachers for that particular class of small children. After the first week or so, the teacher’s union went on strike. It was a very divisive move on the part of the union, with many regular teachers refusing to strike. They felt it was a political move within the union, and not really a strike issue (more of a power play and an attempt by one faction to take control over the union). At any rate, the atmosphere was charged within the union itself, and, also, within the city. Soon, a small, militant group of striking teachers, (who, in my opinion shouldn’t have been teaching young children in the first place, because they were violent individuals) began to cross the lines of both law and propriety. All the teachers who continued to teach began to receive telephone threats. One of the calls I received said that my car would be bombed, with me in it. Physical attacks had already been made on a few of the regular teachers who were continuing to be in their classrooms, so the threats weren’t exactly empty ones. Fear drove some away from their classes. Substitutes were a bit more protected, as I recall, since it took a few days for the violent group to find out our names. Once the attacks and threats began, we were taken to and from school by an armed bus. Needless to say, I couldn’t shake the fear and anger within me that ensued. I had given my word to cover this particular class, and I wasn’t going to let threats of deadly violence stop me. Yet, family members urged me to stop teaching and let the violent ones have their way. In the midst of this trial, I resorted to the 91st Psalm on a daily basis, and these particular words were greatly highlighted in my thought, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night…nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.” I took this to mean that I was to deeply realize, and trust, in the presence of the kingdom of God, and God’s loving Authority, over all identities created. I was to let go of fear and remember God’s sustaining, loving protection. So, after many days, I yielded, mentally, to God’s invisible kingdom of love and harmony that was really with me. The first effect, for me, was a sense of peace finally restoring itself within my emotions. The fear left me; I did trust this invisible kingdom, where no threats existed. Within days, the entire, threatening situation began to turn around, and another thought came strongly to my mind: “I will make you the head, and not the tail.” I recognized it as from the Bible, so I looked it up. The actual quotation says, “And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail;” (Deuteronomy 28: 13 to 1st ;). I took this to be an angel-thought telling me that everything would be all right for us. The second effect then took place in the physical scene: Within a few days, many of the perpetrators were arrested (and, hopefully, lost their future positions over children). With the arrests, the violence stopped. I’m quite sure this publicity also shortened the strike. No deadly violence had come to pass, and those of us who had endured many days and nights of such threats came through the ordeal, safe and sound, under God’s authority and government, in spite of the local terrorists. (As often occurs, however, the behavior of those few damaged parent and teacher relationships in the larger community, for years afterward.) Having had so many instances of God’s salvation in my life, it’s no wonder I’m such a religious nut. And I know it’s hard to believe in something one can’t see, touch, taste, smell or hear physically. But if one’s thought can be expanded to consider the possibility of a spiritual kingdom, harmonious, loving and eternal, underlying the whole material farce of existence, then that one will begin to experience the natural salvations of the Christ within, that are wrongly classified as ‘miracles’ in this earthly, false sense of life, and law, in a physical realm. Soon, one realizes that the Prince of Peace is the prince against all the trials and tribulations of the human realm. It is not Jesus, the man, who is within is; it is the Christ identity—our true, spiritual identity, which the spiritually-enlightened individual, Jesus, was trying to show us. It’s our forgotten identity. It’s the Self that is already whole, already eternal, already satisfied, already pure and good by nature, already loving to both God, our Source, and mankind, our brethren. Our salvation comes when we turn within to find this forgotten, spiritual self—who we really are, and where we really dwell. Then our beliefs are corrected and our thoughts can do no harm, to ourselves or to others; nor can any do harm to us. And, when the 91st Psalm is understood and practiced, the thoughts from divine Love turn away any destruction headed our way.
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