Although Adam and Eve were created in the image of God with a divine nature and placed on a perfect earth they were also created to recognize the authority of a Creator. God in the garden, placed on them only one stipulation. To obey Him!
Gen 2:16-17...And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Through disobedience to the creator they violated the authority of God's rule. Their communion with God, which was the Kingdom of God, was lost through the Original Sin. In fact because of this original sin God cast both Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.
Gen 3:24...So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Their exile from the earth's perfect state at that time is where the Kingdom of Heaven was lost. Within that exile from the Garden man's dominion over the animals and the earth was also lost.
Both Kingdoms were lost at the fall. God knew neither man nor the earth could be restored from the curse of the fall without Divine intervention. Redemption of man and restoration of the earth from the curse was provided by God in the promise of a Savior in Genesis 3:15.
Gen 3:15...And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Since the divine image was lost at the fall man could not restore himself to the Kingdom of God. So, how could man be restored? By becoming a new creation in subjection to the Creator like Adam was, before the fall.
Eph 2:10...For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The restoration of Kingdom of God began in the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ according to the Scriptures. By the power of Divine Grace a penitent sinner is re-created by Christ with a divine nature after he is delivered from sin.
2 Peter 1:4...ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust
Col 1:13...Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
A new nature puts the convert back under the authority of God in subjection and obedience to God. The Kingdom of God is God's rule over the heart and life of a believer in Christ. The Kingdom of God is invisible but its manifestation is a true heart in obedience to God.
2 Cor 5:17...Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new
Eph 4:23-24...And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Man's dominion over tangible earth was lost in the fall of Adam. Adam had dominion over animals he lost it! Adam had dominon like men will have dominion in the future Kingdom Heaven on Earth! When Christ came the first time He came to establish that Kingdom on Earth. He also delgated that kind of authority to His disciples. He told them if they had faith the size of a mustard seed they would be able to move mountains. This is what is meant by man's dominion. Man had power and authority in Creation...it was lost! Man was delgated authority and dominion during the Earthly ministry of Christ. It was lost! Man does not have dominion over natural law or animals now! Man will have this dominion in the future Kingdom of Heaven.
Here's where modern religion runs into a snag...especially those who live under Kingdom authority in the four Gospels... and not the authority of a resurrected Christ taught in the Epistles. Mans dominion was lost...in the fall of Adam. Granted man will have dominion in the future Kingdom of Heaven. Granted Christ gave the disciples dominion during His Earthly ministry...but because of their "lack of faith" they couldn't live up to the standard of holiness in the Kingdom.
At the fall of Adam man's God given dominion over all the earth, was lost. Man lost full control when the divine nature was lost. Man's authority over the earth and everything in it was lost and has never been regained. If man presently had dominion like Adam had in the Garden there would be no need for faith or trust in God for the problems of life. God's solution to fixing man's problems through faith would not be needed. Problems of life would not exist. Man could control everything in nature: the plant life, animal life, atmospheric conditions, the weather, etc.
As a result of the fall, man lost control of the laws of nature. Perfect health was lost. Man eventually died physically as a result of the curse of the fall. The very ground of the earth was cursed, the plant life, vegetation, etc. Because man's food supply was a product of a cursed earth man physically began to decay. Through a gradual physical deterioration of the body the life span of man likewise decreased through the ages. Death* has reigned since the original sin of Adam.
Rom 5:12-14...Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
*Note! When God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16...thou shalt surely die, it implied death. Death is not limited to physical death only. Death implies both physical death and spiritual separation from God.
All trials, conflicts, and problems of life that men have presently, stem from the fall of Adam. The curse of the fall is a result of Satan's past work. All evil that occurs in this present life is not always a direct attack of Satan. Many times it's a direct result of the curse of the fall. Remember, "Satan is not omnipresent."
Job 1:7...And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Satan is not omnipresent but the "effects of his past works" continue in this present world.
Every promise concerning the Messianic reign of Christ on earth points to a restoration from the curse of the fall. This is the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Within that future Kingdom of Heaven man's dominion on earth will also be restored.
Rev 20:6...Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Man cannot reign with Christ without true holiness of heart. Christ came first to redeem man from sin which is the Kingdom of God; second Christ comes to restore mans dominion, in the Kingdom of Heaven where all creation will be restored to its original perfection. Man must have a divine nature to have dominion over all the earth in the Kingdom of Heaven. At that time there will be no heartache, tears, suffering, trouble, sickness, death, or problems of life.
Rev 21:4...And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away
Again I state, "The Holy scriptures must be rightly divided" not only to see the Two Kingdoms but also to see where they were lost and how Christ "restores" them. To Christ be the glory!
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