Biblegems #233
Question: Is there a difference between the
Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God? Also, what does it mean that
"the kingdom of heaven is near," "theirs is the kingdom of
heaven," "Your kingdom come. . . on earth as it is in heaven,"
"seek first His kingdom," etc. Are all of these kingdoms the same? Is
it a state of mind? An actual place?
The first
two posts on this subject focused on the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven,” used almost exclusively by Jesus in the
book of Matthew. In contrast to this, the phrase, “the kingdom of God” occurs 66 times in the New Testament. Most of
these are in the Gospels (52X), then Acts (6X), 1 Corinthians (4X), followed by
Romans, Galatians, Colossians and 2 Thessalonians (1X each). Of all of these,
the term is found most frequently in the Gospel of Mark and used almost
exclusively by Jesus.
But here
is where things get really interesting. Just as Jesus taught that “the kingdom of heaven” has already come near (i.e.,
because of Jesus’ presence as heaven’s royal representative on earth), He also
taught exactly the same way about “the
kingdom of God”:
Mark 9:1 And he
said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste
death before they see that the kingdom
of God has come with power.”
“The
kingdom of God” means the kingdom from God, just as “the kingdom of heaven” means the kingdom from heaven. The fact is, God, who is
Spirit (Jn. 4:24), has established a location in His creation from which He governs
all that exists:
Ps.
2:4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
God’s
throne “in heaven” is distinct from
“the heavens” we commonly refer to as intergalactic space:
Ps. 8:1
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic
is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
“The kingdom of God,” then, means the authority of (or “from”) God as the Supreme Ruler of creation
whose throne is in heaven, “beyond” the physical and spatial universe. Consequently,
when Jesus told the three disciples they would “see that the kingdom of God has
come with
power” (Mk. 9:1), He was referring to the demonstration of God’s power and
authority they were about to witness on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mk.
9:2-8).
But “the kingdom of God” refers to more than
simply His authority and power. It also refers to a community, a unique culture
that perfectly reflects God’s nature, God’s values and God’s character. It is God’s kingdom; and those who inhabit His
kingdom now, and those who will enter His kingdom in the future must likewise reflect
His nature, values and character. Sadly, not everyone will enter in:
Luke 13:28-29 There
will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of
God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and
south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
For this
reason, Jesus frequently gave examples from life and from nature on how to “enter
the kingdom of God / kingdom of heaven”:
Mark 4:26 He also
said, “This is what the kingdom of God is
like. A man scatters seed on the ground.”
Note: Be sure to check out next week’s final post on this subject !
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