Dear friends:
 
To keep our perspective, it is good to be reminded of three things: (1) we are presently experiencing two kingdoms, (2) these two kingdoms are in conflict with one another, and (3) one wins.
 
There is (1) the kingdom of God, and also (2) the kingdom of Satan.
 
The kingdom of God is truth, light, love, hope, righteousness, peace and joy.
 
The kingdom of Satan is deception, darkness, death, and hopelessness, and is “of this world.”
 
Jesus said, “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).  Yet, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10).  But He said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).   And to His followers who remain in the world, us, He says, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).
 
In the kingdom of God, Jesus is King.  This kingdom wins.  It is victorious.
 
In the kingdom of darkness, Satan is king.  In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul calls him “the god of this world.”  But this kingdom loses.  In fact, it lost at Calvary.
 
For those who have received Christ, God “hath delivered us from the power (domain, dominion) of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood” (Colossians 1: 13-14).
 
The kingdom of God is eternal, and invisible, but it can be manifested in the physical world.
 
The kingdom of Satan is temporal, also invisible, but is manifested in the visible, material world.  
 
The reality of these two kingdoms is why it is sometimes confusing to hear prophecies and read Scriptures of coming judgment and destruction, while at the same time we hear prophecies and read Scriptures about coming revival and victory.  There seems to be a contradiction, but both are true.
 
All outside the kingdom of God -- governments, institutions, religions, and people -- are under a curse and are destined for judgment and destruction.  That includes America and every other country of the world.  They are merely temporal, yet God uses them for His purposes, such as for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
 
That is why Jesus commanded us to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16:15-16).  Those who believe are “translated” from the kingdom of darkness, which is damned, to the kingdom of God’s dear Son.
 
Eventually, as this is done, “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).  This will be fully manifested when Jesus returns, not before, as some teach.
 
But remember, Jesus commanded us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
 
As we believe God’s Word and act upon it, the kingdom of God invades and supplants Satan’s kingdom in this world, even before Jesus returns.  Light replaces darkness.  Hope replaces hopelessness.  Peace replaces strife.  Joy replaces sadness.  Love replaces hate.  Righteousness replaces evil. 
 
Therefore, let us not be concerned for the crumbling kingdom of darkness around us, but be agents for God’s kingdom.  “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV). 
 
Ambassadors represent the King.  We walk in the King’s authority, we carry His credentials, and we are authorized to use His Name.  Darkness flees before us. 
 
All hail to the King and His kingdom!

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17).
 
Jim