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Scripture Reading: Gen. 12:1-2; Matt. 6:9-10; Exo. 19:4-6; Rev. 11:15; Matt. 21:43; 3:2; 4:17; 10:5-7; 12:28; 16:19; 13:3, 24, 31, 33; 19:23-24; John 3:3, 5; Matt. 5:20; 7:21; 18:3; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; 2 Thes. 1:5; Rev. 12:10; 2 Tim. 4:18
Genesis 1 says that God created man in His own image and that He gave man the authority to rule all the created things (v. 26). In the creation of man the two vital things are the divine image and the divine authority. If we are to have the full image of God to express God and to realize the full authority to represent God, to subdue His enemy, to subdue this earth, God Himself must be our life. In the first two chapters of Genesis we see the image and the dominion, the authority, and the life of God, which is signified by the tree of life (2:9). To express God and to represent God in a full way, we must take God as our life. We must have God living within us and through us. Then we will have the real image of God to express God, and we will realize the divine authority to represent God on this earth to subdue His enemy. The divine life to be received by man is for two things: to express God on the positive side and to deal with God’s enemy on the negative side. To express God, man needs the image of God. To deal with the enemy of God, man needs the authority of God. The divine authority, which is something of the kingdom, is revealed throughout the entire Scriptures.
After man became fallen, God chose the race of Abraham. The first race, the race of Adam, failed God. But after the great flood, God began again with a second race of mankind, the race of Noah. This second race also failed God. Then God chose the third race, the race of Abraham, after the time of Babel. The purpose of God’s choosing of Abraham is revealed in Genesis 12:1-2. These two verses tell us that God chose Abraham with the intention of having a kingdom. The Lord told Abraham that He would make of him “a great nation” (v. 2). This great nation is a kingdom. The kingdom is a sphere, a realm, to exercise authority. Without the kingdom God can never exercise His authority. For God to accomplish His purpose, He must have a realm, a sphere, as a kingdom for Him to exercise His authority. This is why the Lord Jesus mentioned the kingdom when He taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6. At the beginning of the Lord’s prayer and at the end of it the kingdom is mentioned. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer says, “Your kingdom come” (v. 10). The end of this prayer says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (v. 13).
The accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose depends on the kingdom. If God does not have a kingdom to exercise His authority, He can do nothing. Thus, in the Old Testament God chose Abraham so his descendants could be made a great nation, a kingdom. The children of Israel came into being, and God did make them a nation, a kingdom. Then after God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He told them that they would be to Him a kingdom, a nation (Exo. 19:4-6). God made Israel a kingdom, a nation, and in that nation God exercised His authority. God accomplished certain things by exercising His authority in the kingdom of Israel.
In the New Testament the first preacher was John the Baptist. The first word preached by him was, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). When the Lord Jesus began to preach the gospel, He said the same thing as John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). When the Lord sent the disciples to preach the gospel He charged them to say, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (10:7). The book of Revelation tells us that at the Lord’s coming back after His judgment upon the nations, the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (11:15). Eventually, in the millennium the Lord will rule as a king with all His victorious saints (20:4, 6). Revelation shows that in the accomplishment of His eternal purpose God eventually will have a kingdom in which He can exercise His authority to the fullest extent. The Scriptures clearly reveal this line of the kingdom of God in which or through which God can exercise His authority to accomplish His eternal purpose.
A kingdom is not a simple matter. For example, the United States as a nation, a kingdom, is not a simple matter. The kingdom of God includes many things that need to be understood. In the Old Testament there is the kingdom of Israel. In the New Testament there is the kingdom of the heavens. Then after the church age there will be a period of a thousand years known as the millennium. The millennium is a kingdom of a thousand years (vv. 4, 6). If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will see that even in the millennium there are some further divisions. The kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, the kingdom of the heavens in the New Testament, and the millennial kingdom after the church age are parts of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God runs from eternity to eternity. It is a realm, a sphere, in which God can rule and exercise His authority. From eternity past to eternity future there is such a thing called the kingdom of God. In this kingdom, God exercises His authority to rule over all things.
Concerning the kingdom of Israel being a part of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament times, Matthew 21:43 says, “I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing its fruit.” The kingdom of God was already there with the Israelites, but because they did not bring forth fruit, the Lord told them that the kingdom of God would be taken from them. Since it could be taken from them, that means that the kingdom of God was among them already. The Lord took the kingdom from them and gave this kingdom to another people, which is the church.
We must also see from the Scriptures that the kingdom of the heavens is different from the kingdom of God. Most Christians think that the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God are synonymous terms. When John the Baptist came, he told the people to repent for the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near (3:2). This means that up until the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of the heavens had not yet come but was at hand. Then when the Lord Jesus came out to preach the gospel at the beginning of His ministry, He said the same thing: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). Later, in Matthew 10:7, the Lord sent the first group of disciples and told them to say the same thing, that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near. When the Lord came out to preach the gospel, the kingdom of the heavens had not come yet. On the one hand, the kingdom of God was already among the children of Israel. On the other hand, the kingdom of the heavens was coming.
Matthew 12:28 says, “If I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In this verse the Lord refers to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the heavens. Even then, the kingdom of the heavens had still not come, but the kingdom of God was there by that time.
Another important passage showing this distinction between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God is Matthew 11:11-12: “Truly I say to you, Among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he. But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and violent men seize it.” This word indicates that up to this time “the kingdom of the heavens” had not come, and John the Baptist was not in it, because the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than John. Also, from the time of John until the time the Lord spoke this word was the period of time in which people could endeavor to get into the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 16:19 the Lord told Peter that He would give to him “the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.” Even at the time of Matthew 16 the kingdom of the heavens had not begun, because the keys had not been given. The Lord gave the first key of the kingdom of the heavens to Peter on the day of Pentecost. The kingdom of the heavens started on the day of Pentecost when the church began to be built up. Peter used one key to open the gate for the Jewish believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-42), and he used the other to open the gate for the Gentile believers to enter the kingdom of the heavens in the house of Cornelius (10:34-48).
Matthew 13 is another proof that the kingdom of the heavens started when the church began to be built. In the first parable in Matthew 13 the Lord said, “Behold, the sower went out to sow” (v. 3). In the second parable, however, He said, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field. But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat and went away” (vv. 24-25). In the third parable the Lord told us that the kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed (v. 31). The fourth parable tells us that “the kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened” (v. 33). The previous three parables of Matthew 13 always begin with the clause the kingdom of the heavens is like..., but with the first parable there is not such a clause. In the first parable the Lord was coming to sow Himself into people as the seed of life. By that time the kingdom of the heavens had only drawn near; it had not come yet. With the second parable the Lord began to say, “The kingdom of the heavens has become like,” because the kingdom of the heavens began to be established when the church was built (Matt. 16:18-19) on the day of Pentecost, the time when the second parable began to be fulfilled. It was from that time after the church was founded, that the tares, the false believers, were sown in the midst of the true believers, the wheat. Therefore, the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God.
Thus far, we have seen that the kingdom of God is from eternity past to eternity future, and that it includes the kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament, the kingdom of the heavens in the New Testament, and the millennial kingdom after the church age (see chart).
The kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God, just as California, as a part of the United States, is the United States. Matthew 19:23-24 says, “Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, Only with difficulty will a rich man enter into the kingdom of the heavens. And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Verse 23 refers to the kingdom of the heavens, whereas verse 24 refers to the kingdom of God. This proves that the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God. We have already seen from other passages that the kingdom of the heavens is something different from the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God was there before the kingdom of the heavens had come. This passage, however, proves that the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God. The example of California and the United States helps to explain this. On the one hand, California is different from the United States because the United States is an entire nation. California is a part of this nation, so it is different. On the other hand, California is the United States. When you come to California, you come to the United States. Likewise, when you enter into the kingdom of the heavens, you enter into the kingdom of God because the kingdom of the heavens is a part of the kingdom of God. If you are in California, you are in the United States, but if you are in the United States, you are not necessarily in California. If you come to the United States, you may come to New York, Oregon, or Washington, but not to California. If you enter into the kingdom of the heavens, you surely enter into the kingdom of God, but being in the kingdom of God does not guarantee that you are in the kingdom of the heavens.
Matthew 19:23 says that it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. In John 3:3 and 5, though, the Lord reveals that the only requirement for entering the kingdom of God is to be born again. If you have been born again, you have entered into the kingdom of God. By our second birth we have entered into the kingdom of God, but have we entered into the kingdom of the heavens? To enter into the kingdom of God is simply by rebirth, but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens is another matter. Matthew 5:20 says, “I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” To enter into the kingdom of God requires regeneration as a new beginning of our life, but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens demands surpassing righteousness in our living after regeneration. How strict this is! Also, Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens.” Since entering into the kingdom of the heavens also requires doing the will of the heavenly Father, it is clearly different from entering into the kingdom of God by being regenerated. The latter is by the birth of the divine life; the former is by the living of that life. Matthew 18:3 says, “Truly I say to you, Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” Once we have been regenerated, we are in the kingdom of God, but to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, we must have the righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees, we must do the will of God, and we must become as little children.
The time for us to enter into the kingdom of the heavens is revealed in Matthew 24 and 26, the prophecy of the kingdom. These chapters also reveal to us that there is a difference between the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God.
Some Bible teachers claim that when the Lord Jesus came, He came with the kingdom and presented it to the Jewish people. When the Jewish people rejected Him, He received back the kingdom and the kingdom was suspended. According to these Bible teachers, the church age is not the time of the kingdom, because the kingdom has been suspended. They say that when the Lord comes back, He will also bring back the kingdom. Even Dr. C. I. Scofield taught in such a way, but the Bible reveals that the kingdom of God has never been suspended. In Matthew 21:43 the Lord said clearly that the kingdom of God would be taken from the Jewish people and given to another people, that is, to the church. This indicates that the kingdom of God has never been suspended. Then after the Lord’s resurrection and before His ascension to the heavens, He stayed with the disciples for forty days. In those forty days the Lord spoke concerning the things of the kingdom of God: “To whom also He presented Himself alive after His suffering by many irrefutable proofs, appearing to them through a period of forty days and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). This again indicates that the Lord has never suspended the kingdom of God. Acts 8:12 says, “They believed Philip, who announced the gospel of the kingdom of God.” When the apostles preached the gospel, they preached the kingdom of God. The kingdom has never been suspended. The kingdom of God was preached by the apostles, even after the ascension of the Lord and after Pentecost. Acts 14:22 says, “Establishing the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.” Some Bible teachers say that the kingdom of God is merely a matter for the Jewish people, but here the apostles were exhorting the Gentile churches to continue in the faith so that they could enter into the kingdom of God. Romans 14:17 is another verse which shows us that the kingdom of God has not been suspended: “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” With the period of the Holy Spirit, there is still the kingdom of God. Also, the context of this verse is dealing with the church life in the present age. Other verses that show us that the kingdom of God has not been suspended are 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 15:50; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; Revelation 11:15; 12:10; and 2 Timothy 4:18, which says, “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will save me into His heavenly kingdom, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Near the end of Paul’s journey as a Christian, as a servant of the Lord, he said that the Lord would save him into His heavenly kingdom.
Thus far, we have seen that the kingdom of God is not merely related to the Jews but also to the Christians. The matter of the kingdom is not so simple. By our new birth we have entered into the kingdom of God. On the other hand, as far as the kingdom of the heavens is concerned, we are still on the way to entering into it. For example, I have entered into the United States because I am here in California, but I have not entered into the White House. The kingdom of the heavens is something different from the kingdom of God, yet the kingdom of the heavens is the kingdom of God because it is a part of the kingdom of God. Therefore, one can be in the kingdom of God yet still not be in the kingdom of the heavens. John 3:3 tells us that by the new birth we entered into the kingdom of God. On the other hand, we are told in Acts 14:22 that we enter into the kingdom through many tribulations. The kingdom of God is the whole realm in which God rules from eternity to eternity. In the kingdom of God there is a part which is called the kingdom of the heavens. This part began on the day of Pentecost and concludes at the end of the millennium.
With the kingdom of the heavens there are three aspects: the external appearance of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 13), the reality of the kingdom of the heavens (chs. 5—7), and the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (chs. 24—25). If we are going to understand the kingdom of the heavens, we must know these three aspects. On the day of Pentecost, the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens and the reality of the kingdom of the heavens began. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens begins with the coming back of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord comes back, the kingdom of the heavens will be manifested. On the one hand, we can say that the kingdom has started already, but this is just the appearance and the reality, not the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. The appearance of the kingdom of the heavens includes all the false Christians, but only the victorious, overcoming Christians are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. When the Lord Jesus comes back, that will be the time of the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
