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If anyone has come across the
teachings that say the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are
not the same, is a person who has been influenced by John Nelson
Darby (as early as 1834). He is the father of modern
dispensationalism and later incorporated into the commentary of the
Scofield Bible. The scriptures make no distinction between the
kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. The terms are used
interchangeably. However, Scofield states:
The kingdom of God is to be
distinguished from the kingdom of heaven and is separated by
approximately 2,000 years.
No such teaching exists in the
scriptures. Jesus used the terms interchangeably. Jesus states:
There was a rich man who came to
Jesus and asked him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I
may have eternal life?
To answer his question, Jesus
said:
Which?
-
Thou shalt not do murder
-
Thou shalt not commit adultery
-
Thou shalt not steal
-
Thou shalt not bear false
witness
-
Honor thy father and thy mother:
and Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
The young man replied:
All these things I have kept from
my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said to him:
If thou will be perfect, go and
sell all that thou has, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven: and come follow me.
The rich man, after hearing
what Jesus said to him, went away sorrowful for he had great
possessions. Jesus then said to his disciples:
Verily I say unto you, that a
rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom
of heaven.
Jesus immediately repeated it
again:
And again I say unto you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle, than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom
of God. (Matt.
19:23-24)
The
phrases “the kingdom of heaven,” “the kingdom of God,” and
“the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5:5), all refer to the same
kingdom.
The
following are verses to show that the kingdom of God and the kingdom
of heaven are used interchangeably.
The
mystery of the
kingdom
of God/kingdom of heaven.
The mystery of the kingdom
of heaven (Matt.
13:11)
Compare:
Unto you it is given to know the
mystery of the kingdom
of God: (Mark 4:11)
Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom
of God: (Luke 8:10)
The parable of the mustard
seed.
The kingdom of God/kingdom of
heaven.
The kingdom
of heaven is
like to a grain of mustard seed, (Matt. 13:31)
Compare:
And he said, Whereunto shall we
liken the kingdom of
God? or with what
comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed,
(Mark 4:30-31)
Unto what is the kingdom
of God like? and
whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed,
(Luk 13:18-19)
Repentance
The kingdom of God/kingdom of
heaven
And saying, Repent ye: for the
kingdom of heaven
is at hand. (Matt. 3:2)
From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. (4:17)
Compare:
And saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand:
(Mark 1:15)
Blessed are the poor and
persecuted
The kingdom of heaven/kingdom
of God.
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. (Matt. 5:3)
Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. (Matt.
5:10)
And he lifted up his eyes on his
disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is
the kingdom of God.
(Luke 6:20)
John the Baptist
Kingdom of God/kingdom of
heaven
I tell you that no one ever born
on this earth is greater than John the Baptist. But whoever is least
in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than
John. (Matt. 11:11)
Compare:
I tell you, among those born of
women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the
kingdom of God
is greater than he. (Luke 7:28)
Little children.
Kingdom of God/kingdom of
heaven
“Let the little children come
to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom
of heaven. (Matt.
19:14)
Compare:
But when Jesus saw it, he was
indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not
hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom
of God. (Mark 10:14)
As
you can see, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are used
interchangeably; they are synonyms. Do we believe what scriptures
state or the Scofield commentary?
So
What Is the Kingdom of God?
Since
Jesus preached about the kingdom of God, what is it? The bible
mentions the “kingdom of God,” or the “kingdom of heaven” and
at other times it is simply mentioned as “gospel,” or “gospel
of the kingdom,” “gospel of God,” or “gospel of the kingdom
of God.” Also note:
-
It
is the “kingdom OF heaven” not
“kingdom IN heaven;”
-
“Kingdom
OF God,” not
“Kingdom IN God.”
The preposition “of” is
used for “belonging to” or “possession.” Furthermore, there
is also an abbreviation for the gospel of the kingdom of God. Mark
abbreviates the gospel of the kingdom as “the
word” (Mark 4:14),
it did not just mean the bible as a whole as most people refer to it
today. The “word of
God” also equals
“word”
and this is the meaning of the “gospel
of the kingdom.” As
Anthony Buzzard states:
The sower went out to sow his
seed.” The sower is the preacher of the gospel of the Kingdom. The
seed is “the word of the Kingdom” (Matt. 13:19). Luke calls it
the “word of God” (Luke 8:11). Mark abbreviates it to “the
word” (Mark 4:14). And he and Luke did not just mean the Bible as a
whole. They meant the gospel of the Kingdom. We have in these three
parallel accounts the simplest of equations: “word/gospel of the
Kingdom” = “word of God” = word.” Carry these definitions
given by Jesus with you as you read the rest of the New Testament.
Above all, never ever drop the word “Kingdom.” If you do, you
will cease to think and sound like Jesus. 70
Peter
tells us:
The grass withers, and the
flowers fall away. But the word of the Lord will last forever.” And
that word is the Good News [gospel] that
was preached to you (1 Pet. 1:24-25).
Peter
also says:
Like newborn babies, thirst for
the pure milk of the
word [the gospel] so
that by it you may grow in your salvation.
If
we want to know about the kingdom of God, we must read the gospels
and see what Jesus said about it. There are many parables
given by Jesus to tell us what the kingdom of God is like. The
kingdom of God is a government that will be established by God and
Christ will rule in that kingdom, which will be here on this earth.
Remember the prayer Jesus taught us to pray? “Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is
the sovereign rule of heaven which is coming in the future on this
earth. As Anthony Buzzard has well stated:
The solemn fact about the
Kingdom and God’s plan remains at the heart of Christianity. God
has appointed a day when He is going to judge and administer the
world by a man
whom He has chosen. “God has set a day for judging the world with
justice by the man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who
this is by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). That coming
day is the Kingdom of God for which we are to prepare diligently.
Jesus
has risen from the dead and in company with him and believing him and
his teachings, we can be assured of resurrection when he comes back.
God has demonstrated His intention to confer immortality on human
beings. “He has
proved His intention by raising the man Jesus from the dead”
(Acts 17:31). With that wonderful account of the ongoing, unfolding
immortality-Kingdom Plan of God firmly in mind, let us rejoice in the
hope set before us and strive to enter the Kingdom of God.
So
the kingdom of God is the long-awaited Messianic rule. This Messianic
rule was unequivocally predicted in the Old Testament as we see in
Psalms chapter 2 for example (see also Acts 4:25,27; 13:33; Heb. 1:5;
Heb. 5:5; Rev. 2:27).
What
about Luke 17:20-21 where Jesus says, “The kingdom of God does not
come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See
there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within
you? Doesn’t this really mean that the kingdom of God dwells only
in the midst of believers?
The
first thing we need to notice is that Jesus is speaking to the
Pharisees. It was the Pharisees who asked the question about the
kingdom and when will it come. The word in the Greek “entos”
is translated
“within.” However, most translations have it correct when they
translate it as “in the midst of.”
Secondly,
I believe the translation “in the midst of you,” or “among you”
is a true translation, because how can Jesus tell the Pharisees the
kingdom of God is within them when they are the ones who sought to
kill him
(Matthew 12:14;
Mark 3:6)?
He called the Pharisees and Scribes hypocrites, blind fools,
whitewashed tombs, snakes, and children of serpents (Matt. 23:13-36).
Although
when Jesus was on this earth and the kingdom was his central message,
he did not yet fully set up shop because the kingdom has not yet
become the kingdom of our LORD and of his Christ until his enemies
become his footstool (Luke 20:42-43; Ps.110:1; Heb. 10:13).
Many
think we can “build” and “expand” this kingdom, but these are
not the related verbs about the kingdom. Rather, the related verbs
are “receive,
“inherit,”
and “enter.”
How does one enter? What is the good news? The good news is that at
this moment, it is never too late to receive, inherit, and enter this
kingdom by repenting and believing the gospel Jesus preached.
Therefore, keep in mind what Jesus said when he began his ministry of
proclaiming the gospel of God:
The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. (Mark
1:15)
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