The Kingdom of God And the Kingdom Of Heaven: Same Or Different?

Does It Matter?

• If they are different, then there are two definitions of Kingdom.

• If there are two definitions of Kingdom, then we must designate which Kingdom for each Kingdom passage and understand the differences.

• If there are two definitions, the Bible would surely make this clear.

Considering A Few Views

• The Catholic View -- The kingdom began with the resurrection and is currently manifested in the church, later to be manifested on earth after the Second Coming.

• The Modified Catholic View of the Evangelicals and the Reformed -- The kingdom is today the sovereignty of God and is present wherever Christ rules and reigns. It will be fully inaugurated at Christ's Second Coming.

• The Fundamentalist View -- The Kingdom of Heaven is the coming earthly reign of Christ on the Davidic throne. The Kingdom of God is both the future Davidic reign as well as the current rule of Christ in the hearts of believers.

• The Futurist View - The Kingdom will not arrive until the King reigns physically after the Second Coming.

Looking At The Evidence

• All would agree that only one future Kingdom is foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures.

  • It was Davidic and Theocratic.

  • It was future, physical, and fraternal.

  • It was still expected by those closest to Jesus at His ascension (Acts 1:6).

    
    

• Many would argue that in the Gospels Jesus reveals information about an invisible, internal, overarching sovereignty of God that is His Kingdom.

• Two interpretive questions must be answered:

• The phrase Kingdom of Heaven is used 25 times, always in the Gospel of Matthew.

• The phrase Kingdom of God is used 69 times in the New Testament.

  • Five of these are found in the Gospel of Matthew.

  • Was it Matthew's preference to refer to the Kingdom of Heaven, or was he referring to a different kingdom?

    
    

• Consider these two texts which have close proximity: Matthew 21:43 and 22:2.

  • There really is no discernable difference between these Kingdoms. In both passages they are future, not now.

  • At best, one could argue that the Kingdom of God encompasses the Kingdom of Heaven, but the reverse is not true.

    
    

• Does Kingdom of Heaven“overarching" (i.e.: spiritual) nature? If so, then the theory above would be impossible.

  • Many would argue that Matthew 13:44, 45, 47, and 52 are spiritual not physical. (I would not).

  • Matthew 18:1-4 could also be argued as spiritual rather than physical.

    
    

• I do not see that Kingdom of Heaven displays more physical nature than does Kingdom of God. Therefore, I do not accept the premise that the heaven terminology refers to the earthly kingdom while the *“of God*" terminology can refer to either. I think they both refer to the same thing.

• Let's consider these passages which are sometimes used to make such reference:

  • Romans 14:17 -- If this proves an overarching Kingdom, then it would create havoc with all premillennial positions.

  • Colossians 1:13 -- This is the preeminent“go to" verse to prove an overarching Kingdom. If this says what its supporters want it to say, Hebrews 12:22-23 must be taken as a spiritual reality, thus denying a physical city of the living God, , the heavenly Jerusalem. Rather, we should see that Paul often speaks of future realities as currently experienced (see also Rom. 8:30).

    
    

• If we let Scripture interpret itself, the Hebrew Scriptures promised a physical kingdom, the Gospels confirmed such a kingdom, no place in the Scripture re-defines the kingdom, no person is corrected for their incorrect view of the physical kingdom, and nothing whatsoever changes the meaning of the word kingdom.

My position, in summary

• There is not a Kingdom of God today. All references to the Bible about the Kingdom refer to the future, physical, fraternal kingdom. This kingdom will be established when Jesus Christ returns.

• “overarching kingdom" or “spiritual kingdom" is a hold-over from Catholicism and should be rejected totally.

• The sovereignty (i.e.: the rule and reign of God) is not at stake. But by clarifying the meaning of kingdom, we avoid confusion and do not add kingdom theology and requirements into the dispensation of the grace of God, which is wholly unrelated to the kingdom of God.

• Much confusion has been introduced to Christianity by holding double definitions of the Kingdom. For example, Got Questions“The concept of the kingdom of God takes on various shades of meaning in different passages of Scripture." ()

• Making the simple difficult has confounded the masses.