|
Heaven
vs the Kingdom of Heaven
by
Lyn Mize
It
is a common error in the Church to teach that “heaven” and the “kingdom of
heaven” are one and the same. There are several reasons for this error. One is
the failure of Christians to study their Bibles, and to accept instead the
traditional teachings of the Church. The reason for this error in traditions is
the failure of teachers and preachers to understand the difference between the
literal and figurative meaning of words used in the Bible, and the principles
for applying the appropriate meaning. For example, one Hermeneutical principle
is that a word should always be taken literally, unless it makes no sense when
taken literally. Literally, “kingdom of heaven” means a literal government of
heaven over the earth. When the Bible talks about the government of the earth
being on the shoulders of Jesus, it means it. Christians who do not understand
the literal meaning of “kingdom of heaven” transfer this error to their
understanding of the “word of the kingdom”, as explained in the parable of the
sower (Matt. 13). The “word of the kingdom” is speaking of the teaching about
the coming government of Jesus Christ over the earth. Neither of these phrases
is addressing the place called heaven. They are both addressing the coming
government of Jesus Christ over the earth, and those Christians who will
qualify to reign and rule with Jesus Christ. This misunderstanding of the
literal meaning of these two phrases has resulted in millions of Christians
having no understanding of the “kingdom of heaven” or the “word of the
kingdom”.
The
typical Christian in the Church today thinks that the “kingdom of heaven” is
simply heaven, and the “word of the kingdom” is simply the teaching about
heaven. The purpose of this article is to correct this misunderstanding among a
few Christians, and to bring them into the fourth group of Christians
represented by the “seed” sown on the good ground, in accordance with the
following verse:
(Matt.
13:23) But he that was sown in the good ground is he that hears and understands
the word of the kingdom. He produces fruit now
bearing a hundredfold, sixtyfold, thirtyfold.
Basic
Definitions of “Kingdom of Heaven” & “Word of the Kingdom”
The
“kingdom of heaven” is simply the theocratic government that God will set up on
the earth with Jesus Christ as the king. The kingdom of heaven is future, and
will be established at the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory at the end
of the seven-year tribulation period. It is the kingdom that we pray for when
we pray in the Lord’s prayer “Thy kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven.”
The
word kingdom comes from the phrase “king’s dominion”, and refers to the
reign and rule of a king over his subjects. A simple way to understand the
phrase “kingdom of heaven” is to substitute the word “government” in place of
“kingdom’. The following is the Greek word for kingdom from Thayer’s Greek
Lexicon:
932
basileia-
1)
royal power, kingship, dominion, rule
a)
not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the
right
or authority to rule over a kingdom
b)
used of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah
c)
used of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the
Messiah's
kingdom
2)
a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king
3)
used in the New Testament to refer to the reign of the Messiah
It
is important to note definition 2 above, which is the figurative definition. If
kingdom were used figuratively, then it would be referring to earth and not
heaven, since the territory that Jesus rules over in the coming kingdom would
be the earth. This is why the phrase “kingdom of heaven” can never refer to
heaven in the Scriptures. It is either speaking of the government of heaven
over the earth (literal), or the territory (i.e., the earth) over which the
government of heaven will reign (figurative).
The
“word of the kingdom” in the parable of the sower is simply the teaching about
the coming kingdom (i.e., government) of Jesus Christ and the necessary
qualifications for entrance into that government. The Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5-7 summarizes the necessary qualifications for entrance into the
kingdom of heaven. Please read my exegetical discourse on the Sermon on the
Mount for a clear understanding of these qualifications. Simply stated, the
requirement is practical righteousness through holy living. The imputed
righteousness of Christ gets one into heaven, but practical righteousness gets
one into the kingdom of heaven. This is very clear in the Scriptures.
The
primary Old Testament Scripture addressing the coming millennial kingdom of
Jesus Christ is as follows:
(Dan
2:44 KJV) And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for
ever.
Jesus
Christ uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” to refer to this kingdom that will
be set up by the God of heaven. This phrase refers to the rule and reign of the
heavens over the earth. It is in reference to a position of authority for a
king and his appointed rulers. The kingdom of heaven is not a place, but a
sphere of authority. Heaven is a place, but the kingdom of heaven points to a
sovereign ruler and his appointed rulers. Jesus Christ will be the ruler and
those in the Church who qualify for these positions will reign with him from
the heavens when his kingdom is established.
James
and John, the sons of Zebedee attempted to assure themselves the highest
positions in this coming kingdom in the following passage, but Jesus gently
rebuked them and told them that the highest positions in the kingdom required
the greatest suffering. There is no doubt that James and John, sons of Zebedee
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but it is doubtful if they will occupy the
two highest positions in this kingdom.
(Mat
20:20 KJV) Then came to him the
mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a
certain thing of him.
(Mat
20:21 KJV) And he said unto her,
What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the
one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
(Mat
20:22 KJV) But Jesus answered and
said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall
drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say
unto him, We are able.
(Mat
20:23 KJV) And he saith unto them,
Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine
to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is
prepared of my Father.
Both
sons of Zebedee did drink of the cup that Jesus drank, since they suffered
death as martyrs. Both would have certainly qualified for entrance into the
kingdom of heaven, but it is a certainty that their attitudes were much
different at the end of their lives than in the above passage of
Scripture.
The
phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used 32 times in the KJV Bible in 31 verses, and
it is never used in reference to the place called heaven. The phrase is used 8
times in Matthew 13 in the description of the mystery aspect of the kingdom of
heaven. The mystery aspect of the kingdom of heaven is the current Church Age
when believers are qualifying for positions in the coming kingdom of heaven.
Please read Chapter 7 of my book The Open
Door for an understanding of The Seven Parables of the Kingdom.
The
mystery aspect of the kingdom is the time when the king is away, and it is the
time when the “word of the kingdom” is being taught by select disciples. We
know from the parable of the sower that only one group in four of Christians
hears and understands the “word of the kingdom” and wind up bearing
fruit.
One
group of Christians hears the word of the kingdom, but does not understand it.
This is probably the majority of the Church in this age. The second group hears
and understands the word of the kingdom, but is not strongly versed in its
teachings and falls away from the teaching because of persecution. The third
group hears and understands the “word of the kingdom”, but gets caught up in
the cares of this world and becomes unfruitful. Only one group hears and
understands the “word of the kingdom” and goes on the bear much fruit, in spite
of the persecution that goes along with the teaching of the “word of the
kingdom”. This group also does not get caught up in the cares of this world and
the deceitfulness of riches.
Many
times in the Scriptures the kingdom of heaven is called the kingdom of God. The
kingdom of God includes the kingdom of heaven, but the kingdom of God is a
broader term, which includes three primary aspects. Please read my tract
What is the Kingdom of God?
for an understanding of these three aspects. The kingdom of heaven is the third
aspect of the kingdom of God.
Three Aspects of the Kingdom of
Heaven
Just
as there are three aspects to the kingdom of God with the third aspect being
the kingdom of heaven, there are also three aspects to the kingdom of heaven.
The first aspect has already been alluded to in a general fashion, and it is
called the mystery aspect of the kingdom of heaven. The name for this aspect
comes from Jesus who taught the parables of the kingdom, and told his disciples
that it was given unto them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but it was not given to the Pharisees and the Sadducees to understand
these mysteries.
The
Pharisees and Sadducees sat in Moses seat, and they had led the nation of
Israel down the wrong path of ritualism, traditionalism, and rationalism. The
Pharisees added their ritualism and traditionalism to the Scriptures, and the
Sadducees freely removed the parts of Scripture that they disliked. Because of
their rejection of Jesus Christ, they shut the kingdom of heaven up from the
Jews as a nation and the kingdom was removed from the nation of Israel and
given to a new nation that would bring forth fruit. The following Scriptures
addresses this sequence of events:
(Mat
23:13 KJV) But woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither
suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
(Mat
21:43 KJV) Therefore say I unto
you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you
(i.e., nation of Israel), and given to a nation
(i.e., the Church) bringing forth the fruits thereof.
As
stated already, the mystery aspect of the kingdom pertains to the current
period of time between the First Coming of Jesus and the Second Coming of Jesus
at the end of the tribulation period. According to the seven parables of the
kingdom, the mystery aspect will even continue through the seven-year
tribulation period, when Jews and Gentiles outside of the Church Age will
qualify for entrance into the earthly aspect of the kingdom of heaven. The
earthly aspect of the kingdom is the second aspect of the kingdom of heaven.
The earthly aspect pertains to Jews and Gentiles who will enter into the
earthly aspect of the kingdom of heaven. They will reign and rule upon the
earth in bodies of flesh and blood during the millennial kingdom.
The
third aspect of the kingdom of heaven is the heavenly aspect, and refers to
those in the Church who will qualify during the mystery aspect of the kingdom
to reign and rule with Jesus Christ in the heavenly aspect of the
kingdom.
In
the seven parables of the kingdom, the pearl of great price pertains to the
Church striving for the heavenly aspect. The hidden treasure refers to Israel
hidden in the earth who will still qualify for the earthly aspect of the
kingdom. The cast net refers to the Gentiles in the last half of the
tribulation period who qualify for the earthly aspect because of the way they
treat the brethren (i.e., Jews) of Jesus in the time of Jacob’s trouble.
|